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COSMOGRAPHY; 


PHILOSOPHICAL     VIEWS 


UNIYERSE. 


CHARLES    F.    WINSLOW,    M.D. 


"  The  heavens  are  thine ;  the  earth  also  is  thine:  as  for  the  world  and 
the  fulness  thereof;  thou  hast  founded  them.  The  north  and  the  south,  thou 
hast  created  them.  —  Psalm  Ixxxix.  11, 12. 


BOSTON: 
CROSBY,     NICHOLS,     &     CO. 

NEW   YORK:     C.    S.    FRANCIS    &   CO. 

1853. 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1853,  by 

"WM.  CROSBY  &  H.  P.  NICHOLS, 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  District  of  Massachusetts. 


BOSTON : 

PRINTED   BY  JOHN    WILSON   AND   SON, 

No.  22,  School  Siiieet. 


c^ 


PREFACE. 


cr>  In  presenting  this  little  book  to  the  world,  I 

>r  did  not  intend  to  make  any  prefatory  remarks, 

az 

S  inasmuch  as  I  had  expressed  a  word  here  and 

CO 

_j  there  in  its  pages  by  way  of  apology  for  what 
-«  may  be  considered  innovation  or  presumption. 
g  But,  since  the  work  has  passed  the  press,  I  have 
felt  more  than  ever  the  necessity  of  great  accu- 
racy in  the  pursuit  of  its  important  inquiries  ; 
and,  though  my  convictions  of  the  correctness 
of  its  main  features  are  continually  strength- 
ened, I  would  have  my  ideas  expressed  with 
such  precision,  that  there  should  appear  noth- 
ing like  error  in  the  facts  stated,  or  in  the 
philosophy  set  forth.     In  some  instances,  this 


286775 


IV  PREFACE. 

object  may  not  have  been  fully  carried  out; 
and  I  feel  sensible  of  several  deficiencies  wbich 
"will  probably  be  observed  by  others. 

The  composition  was  first  commenced  as  a 
private  letter,  by  way  of  amusement,  to  a  scien- 
tific friend  ;  but,  the  subject  having  enlarged 
itself  beyond  my  intention,  I  followed  the  sug- 
gestion of  others,  and  changed  my  purpose  so 
far  as  to  transform  the  epistle  into  a  book. 
Since  doing  so,  I  have  partly  regretted  it,  for 
reasons  stated  sufficiently  at  large  in  the  body 
of  the  work.  The  views,  however,  if  altogether 
erroneous,  will  do  no  harm  to  mankind ;  but,  if 
correct,  they  will  enlarge  the  bounds  of  human 
knowledge,  and  impart  fresh  vigor  to  scientific 
inquiry. 


CONTENTS. 


PART    I. 

PAGE 

Development   of   the   Theory   of   Repulsion   as   a 
Planetart,  Solar,  and  Universal  Force      .    .      1 


PART    II. 

Analytical  Examination  of  the  Solar  System,  and 
Application  of  the  Theory  of  Repulsion  to  the 
Creation  of  the  Universe 45 


PART     III. 

Inequalities  of  Surface  in  the  Solid  Spheres  and 
the  successive  Revolutions  observed  through- 
out THE  Crust  of  our  own  Globe,  as  Results 
OF  the  alternating  Intensity  of  Cosmical 
Forces 121 


PART     I. 

DEVELOPMENT    OF   THE    THEORY   OF    REPULSION    AS 
A   PLANETARY,   SOLAR,   AND    UNIVER- 
SAL FORCE. 


PART     I. 


As  comparative  anatomists,  by  careful  ob- 
servation of  a  fossil  bone  or  tooth,  may, 
reconstruct  an  animal  or  race  which  lived 
during  some  incalculably  remote  epoch ; 
so,  by  the  study  of  a  planet  or  comet, — 
mere  fragments  of  the  cosmical  system, — 
the  primordial  condition  of  the  material 
universe  may  be  discovered,  and  the  action 
of  the  laws  traced,  which  governed  the 
creation  and  motion  of  the  celestial  spheres. 
To  attempt  merely  the  outline  of  such  an 
object  is  a  work  of  great  labor;  but  con- 
templations which  have  given  the  writer 
much  enjoyment  may,  when  expressed  in 


^  COSMOGRAPHY : 

methodical  form,  be  pleasing  and  profitable 
to  the  general  reader,  and  not  without 
importance  to  philosophers  and  scientific 
inquirers. 

When  observing  any  animal  form,  we 
notice  its  symmetry ;  but  we  know  noth- 
ing of  its  internal  composition,  or  the  prin- 
ciples of  its  organization,  until  we  have 
exposed  its  entire  structure,  not  only  to 
general,  but  to  microscopical  examination. 
Then  alone  we  discover  the  facts  on  which 
we  can  found  the  laws  of  its  inception, 
growth,  and  complete  creation.  The  first 
motion  of  its  molecules,  tending  to  its 
inception,  we  may  fail  to  discover,  because 
that  lies  beyond  material  being,  and  is  the 
creative  principle  itself,  lying  so  remote  as 
to  be  hidden  in  chaos,  but  still  so  near 
as  to  teach  that  it  is  the  direct  agent  of  the 
thought  and  will  of  God.  I  shall  apply 
this  illustration,  so  clear  and  natural  as  it 
is,  to  the  principle  of  analysis  which  I  shall 


VIE^YS    OF    THE    UNIVERSE.  d 

pursue  hereafter,  in  attempting  to  unfold 
the  mysteries  of  cosmical  creations.  To 
arrive  back  at  the  ultimate  cause  of  all 
things,  is  what  I  do  not  expect  nor  attempt; 
but  only  to  examine  the  sidereal  universe, 
in  connection  with  its  great  organic  forces ; 
to  trace  matter  from  its  present  combi- 
nations to  its  original  conditions;  and  to 
endeavor  to  expose  the  fundamental  princi- 
ples which  presided  over  its  agglomeration, 
and  its  creation  into  the  actual,  visible 
forms  presented  in  our  contemplations  of 
the  universe. 

In  nature  we  behold  matter  existing 
under  two  distinct  and  remarkable  forms : 
one  is  the  condition  of  separate  individual 
molecules ;  the  other  is  the  union  of  these 
molecules  in  such  prodigious  numbers  as 
to  constitute  the  rotund,  cosmical  spheres 
suspended  in  iiifinite  space.  Isolate  a 
molecule  in  the  imagination,  if  possible, 
and  we  find  it  possessed  of  two  principles 


COSMOGRAPHY : 


which  govern  its  relations  to  all  other 
molecules :  these  are  attraction  and  repul- 
sion. Philosophers  differ  somewhat  in 
opinion  about  the  exertion  of  these  forces, 
when  molecules  are  brought  into  close 
relation  wdth  each  other.  One,  for  in- 
stance, imagines  them  separated  by  an 
imponderable,  inappreciable  ether,  which, 
like  the  atoms  themselves,  expands  and 
contracts,  and  which  prevents  them  from 
ever  coming  into  direct  contact.  Another 
believes  that  molecules  are  brought  by 
attraction  within  definite  distances  of  each 
other,  and  that  there  repulsion  acts  to  pre- 
vent a  nearer  approach.  Apply  external 
force,  and  overcome  this  repulsion  beyond 
a  certain  degree,  they  approach  nearer,  and 
unite  with  each  other  into  closer  relations, 
forming  chemical  compounds.  These  theo- 
ries are  more  or  less  ingenious  or  probable  ; 
but,  as  the  explanations  of  the  relations  of 
molecules  are  doctrines  developed  by  pure 


VIEWS    OF    THE    UNIVERSE.  0 

reason,  acting  on  certain  known  facts,  the 
highest  orders  of  intellect  may  not  enter- 
tain exactly  identical  views;  and  it  matters 
not  particularly  to  the  final  result  of  this 
inquiry,  as  all  are  agreed  on  the  existence 
of  the  two  properties  which  attach  to  the 
ultimate  particles  of  matter,  —  attraction 
and  repulsion.  Bring  one  atom  gradually 
toward  another  atom ;  and,  at  a  certain 
point,  they  attract  each  other,  and  approach 
nearer,  through  the  agency  of  a  power  re- 
siding within  themselves.  At  a  certain 
distance,  before  they  come  in  contact,  the 
force  of  attraction  is  arrested ;  and  they 
are  kept  apart  by  a  power  of  repulsion, 
which,  equally  with  that  of  attraction, 
resides  within  each  molecule.  It  is  an 
admitted  fact  in  philosophy,  that  these  pro- 
perties do  attach  to  all  ultimate  particles 
of  matter.  It  is  a  difficult  thing  to  ima- 
gine the  combination  of  these  impondera- 
ble, polarizing  essences  or  forces  with  the 


6  COSMOGRAPHY  '. 

atom  of  material  substance.  So  far  as  I 
can  trace  these  forces  to  their  first  action, 
it  has  seemed  to  me  necessary,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  establishing  motion  in  the  primor- 
dial molecules  diffused  throughout  space, 
for  them  to  have  these  forces  located  re- 
spectively in  foci  equidistant  from  a  given 
axis.  The  principles  of  attraction  and  re- 
pulsion being  opposite,  and  thus  located, 
the  molecule  v^'ould  be  polarized;  and  the 
consequence  would  be,  that,  in  attracting 
and  being  attracted,  repelling  and  being 
repelled,  for  the  purpose  of  attaching  them- 
selves to  each  other,  a  rotary  movement 
would  be  imparted  to  all,  and  the  funda- 
mental act  of  celestial  motion  would  have 
been  established.  Admitting  this  consti- 
tution of  individual  molecules,  the  same 
action  of  rotation  on  their  axes  might  be 
imparted  to  all  spherical  agglomerations, 
however  vast  their  magnitude. 

However  molecules  may  be  endowed  by 


VIEWS    OF    THE    UNIVERSE.  7 

these  opposite  forces,  wc  can  only  deter- 
mine their  mutual  action  and  reaction 
with  distinctness  when  they  are  aggrega- 
ted into  spheres,  by  the  observation  of 
comets,  when  moving  within  the  visible 
influence  of  the  great  central  body. 

The  sun  is  supposed  to  exert  its  attrac- 
tive force  on  its  revolving  spheres,  direct 
from  its  centre.  Physical  astronomers,  in 
all  mathematical  computations  on  the  dis- 
tances, motions,  &c.  of  the  heavenly  bodies, 
make  their  calculations  from  the  centre  of 
the  sun.  Comets  are  translucent  bodies ; 
and,  by  that  remarkable  property  in  their 
physical  constitution,  they  exhibit,  with 
great  beauty  and  distinctness,  the  mobility 
of  their  molecules  ;  and  we  can  see  them 
condense  towards  the  centre,  as  these  bo- 
dies approach  the  sun,  until  they  have 
formed  a  nucleus,  so  bright,  in  some  cases, 
that  they  are  almost  star-like.  If  there  be 
any  reciprocity  of  central  forces  between 


8 


COSMOGRAPHY 


the  sun  and  its  revolving  spheres,  we  can 
certainly  form  some  idea  of  their  action, 
from  the  physical  changes  which  we  ob- 
serve to  take  place  in  comets,  as  they 
approach  and  recede  from  the  sun.  This 
is  certain,  as  they  approach  the  sun,  their 
circumference  becomes  more  defined  and 
disk-like,  and  their  centre  more  dense  and 
compact.  The  sun,  exerting  its  power 
from  its  centre,  draws  them  along  their 
orbit.  Is  this  concentric  accumulation  of 
molecules  the  result  of  an  attractive  force 
in  their  centres,  acting  reciprocally  w^ith 
the  increasing  power  of  the  sun,  and 
assisting  them  in  their  gravitating  course 
toward  the  central  body  ?  or  is  it  the  result 
of  a  repulsive  force,  exerted  from  the  cir- 
cumference of  the  comet  towards  its 
centre,  by  which  its  disk  becomes  more 
defined,  and  the  whole  cometary  mass 
more  compact,  and  by  which  it  is  pre- 
vented from  fallino:  into  the  sun  ?    or  are 


VIEWS    OF    THE    UNIVERSE.  9 

these  extraordinary  appearances  the  results 
of  the  combined  action  of  the  two  forces  of 
attraction  and  repulsion,  made  visible  by 
the  translucency  of  comets  ?  Whatever  the 
nature  of  the  solar  forces,  or  however  the 
central  forces  of  the  revolving  bodies  may 
respond  to  the  solar  forces,  one  thing  is 
certain,  the  more  the  molecules  of  any  mass 
of  matter  are  compressed  by  external  force, 
the  denser  that  mass  becomes,  and  the 
greater  is  the  degree  of  repulsion  awakened 
between  its  constituent  particles.  On  a 
mass  of  matter,  possessed  of  great  molecu- 
lar mobility,  which  we  may  hold  in  the 
hand,  we  may  see  the  effects  of  mechanical 
compression.  The  mass  becomes  smaller, 
and  the  particles  composing  it  are  con- 
tracted into  a  narrower  compass.  They 
are  forced  into  a  smaller  space  by  the  repel- 
ling power  of  external  pressure.  When 
this  external  pressure,  which  acts  like  re- 
pulsion on  the  outer  layer  of  molecules,  is 


10  COSMOGRAPHY : 

removed,  the  whole  mass  expands  from 
centre  to  circumference,  and  regains  the 
volume  it  possessed  during  the  natural 
equilibrium  of  its  particles.  "What  do  we 
behold  in  comets  as  they  approach  and 
recede  from  the  sun  ?  When  they  ap- 
proach, they  diminish  in  volume,  become 
more  dense  in  their  centre  and  defined  in 
their  spherical  form.  These  phenomena 
increase  till  they  pass  their  perihelia,  when 
they  begin  to  expand  in  volume,  become 
more  rare,  and  less  defined  in  their  disk ; 
and  these  characteristics  increase  till  the 
comet  passes  out  of  sight.  The  sun's 
action  on  the  gaseous  bodies  of  comets,  is 
similar  to  that  of  mechanical  pressure  on 
a  small  sphere  of  the  same  composition. 
"What  would  be  the  effect  of  a  like  action 
of  external  pressure  upon  a  hollow  sphere 
of  India-rubber,  filled  with  some  dense 
or  viscid  liquid  ?  The  same  as  on  the 
gaseous  sphere.     The  particles  composing 


VIEWS    OF    THE    UNIVERSE.  11 

the  ball  would  be  forced  into  a  smaller 
volume ;  and,  if  the  pressure  was  not  uni- 
form, various  parts  of  the  surface  would 
protrude  or  crack,  and  its  fluid  contents 
would  be  poured  out  upon  it.  Now,  what 
happens  to  the  revolving  spheres,  whose 
crusts  are  solid,  when  they  approach  the 
sun,  and  while  they  are  in  those  parts  of 
their  orbits  nearest  to  the  central  body  ? 
The  crust  is  convulsed  by  the  tension  of 
internal  re-action  ;  the  fluid  contents  of  the 
interior  escape  to  the  surface ;  and  the  solid 
crust  of  the  planets  rises  and  falls,  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  local  and  violent,  or  the 
slow  and  gradual,  action  of  these  central 
forces.  These  phenomena  are  all  exhibited 
in  direct  proportion  to  the  exertion  of  the 
solar  forces ;  and  they  are  observed  at  their 
maximum,  when  the  earth  is  nearest  the 
sun ;  just  as  we  observe  the  violent  com- 
motion of  the  molecular  elements  of  the 
translucent  comet,  under  the  same  circum- 


12  COSMOGRAPHY : 

stances.  This  interesting  subject  I  shall 
examine  more  in  detail,  in  a  subsequent 
part  of  this  treatise. 

From  these  remarks,  it  would  follow  that 
the  physical  influence  exerted  by  the  sun 
upon  revolving  spheres,  approaching  and 
while  nearest  to  it,  is  similar  to  that  of 
mechanical  compression.  External  pres- 
sure on  an  elastic  ball  in  our  hand  is 
nothing  more  nor  less  than  a  repulsion  im- 
parted by  our  hand  to  the  external  layer  of 
molecules  composing  the  ball ;  and  this 
external  layer  communicates  its  repulsive 
action  to  the  next;  and  so  the  effect  of 
repulsion  is  produced  from  the  circumfer- 
ence to  the  centre,  and  a  reflex  action 
ensues  from  the  centre  to  the  circumfer- 
ence. The  sun  is  so  vast  a  sphere,  and  we 
are  so  remote  from  it,  and  our  means  of 
observation  so  imperfect,  that  it  is  impos- 
sible for  us  to  discover  any  change  in  its 
disk  or  appearance,  as  its  dependent  revolv- 


VIEWS    OF    THE    UNIVERSE.  13 

ing  spheres  approach  and  move  around  it. 
Of  its  properties  we  can  judge  only  by 
studying  effects  which  proceed  from  it. 

Since  the  days  of  Sir  Isaac  Newton, 
astronomy  has  recognized  the  reign  of  one 
principle  only  among  the  heavenly  bodies 
for  the  maintenance  of  the  stability  of 
the  universe,  —  that  of  attraction.  It 
has  become  a  question  of  the  most  pro- 
found importance  to  my  mind,  whether 
there  be  not  another,  exercising  a  domi- 
nion equally  secret  and  potent;  acting  in 
a  manner  antagonistic  to  gravitation,  and 
sustaining,  not  only  the  harmonious  rela- 
tion of  the  various  members  of  our  solar 
system  to  each  other,  but  that  of  all  the 
suns,  and  their  systems  of  revolving  orbs, 
throughout  immensity.  If  a  second  active 
principle,  reigning  over  the  stability  of  the 
universe,  be  admitted,  —  that  of  repulsion, 
—  it  appears  to  me  that  some  of  the  most 
difficult  problems  of  celestial  motion  may 


14  COSMOGRAPHY : 

be  easily  and  beautifully  explained.  The 
varying  dimensions  of  the  lunar  orbit, 
the  lateral  expansion  of  the  earth's  orbit, 
the  steady  advance  of  the  perihelion  points 
of  all  primaries  and  secondaries  in  our 
system,  the  precession  of  the  equinoxes, 
the  contracting  dimensions  of  the  orbits 
of  certain  comets,  and  the  revolutions  of 
multiple  stars,  are  among  those  prominent 
phenomena  which  appear  to  require  the 
existence  of  some  active  principle,  antago- 
nistic to  that  of  attraction,  to  render  their 
explanation  completely  simple,  satisfactory, 
and  conclusive. 

In  molecules,  two  antagonistic  properties 
exist;  and  these  molecules,  in  their  multi- 
plied agglomeration,  constitute  the  various 
revolving  spheres,  all  the  way  from  the 
smallest  meteoric  masses  to  the  mightiest 
central  suns  in  the  universe.  The  principle 
of  attraction  follows  the  agglomeration  of 
these  particles  of  matter;  so  that,  in  the 


VIEWS    OF    THE    UNIVERSE.  15 

revolvino-  bodies,  it  is  manifested  in  direct 
proportion  to  the  mass  of  matter,  and  as- 
sumes a  magnified  energy,  called  planetary 
or  solar  attraction.  Why,  in  this  agglo- 
meration, should  not  the  same  principle  of 
repulsion,  which  exists  in  individual  mole- 
cules in  like  manner  as  attraction,  be 
magnified  and  multiplied  into  a  universal 
power  of  repulsion,  so  as  to  become  a  cen- 
tral planetary  or  solar  force  ?  If  it  be,  then 
all  revolving  spheres  must  be  possessed  of 
a  certain  degree  of  repulsion,  which,  acting 
on  each  other  as  repulsion  acts  on  mole- 
cules, must  keep  them  at  fixed  distances 
asunder,  and  prevent  them  from  coming 
into  contact.  In  spheres,  as  in  molecules, 
which  are  infinitesimal  spheres,  the  attrac- 
tion would  ever  exert  its  action  within 
definite  distances,  beyond  which  it  would 
not  extend.  We  see  this  very  principle 
exerted  in  the  planets  over  their  satellites ; 
and  their  influence  extends  not  beyond  cer- 


16  COSMOGRAPHY  : 

tain  absolute  limits.  So  with  the  sun.  Its 
attractive  power  is  exerted  over  all  the  cos- 
mical  bodies  within  the  limits  of  our  sys- 
tem. That  is  the  domain  of  solar  attraction. 
That  force,  by  which  it  causes  all  bodies 
in  our  system  to  gravitate  to  its  centre, 
loses  its  influence  beyond  a  certain  bound. 
Then  come  the  boundaries  of  other  stellar 
empires.  Thus  the  entire  universe  is  par- 
titioned off,  and  the  innumerable  multitude 
of  stellar  worlds  hang  on  nothing  through- 
out the  boundless  realms  of  space.  It  is 
only  when  we  contemplate  the  sun  in 
relation  to  other  stars,  that  we  discover  the 
exhibition  of  the  great  force  of  solar,  or 
rather  of  stellar,  repulsion,  by  which  the 
whole  heavens  are  maintained  in  the  most 
wonderful  harmony  during  their  vast  side- 
real revolutions.  Admit  repulsion  to  exist 
as  a  universal  force,  manifested  by  spheres, 
and  acting  in  harmonious  but  antagonistic 
combination  with  attraction  upon  all,  and 


VIEWS    OF    THE    UNIVERSE.  17 

the  elements  of  a  compound  motion  are  at 
once  brought  into  being;  which  will  explain 
the  various  forms  of  planetary  and  comet- 
ary  paths,  and  permit  a  universal  stellar 
motion,  without  the  necessity  of  imagining 
a  great  central  body,  to  which  the  outer 
zones  of  celestial  spheres  are  gravitating. 

In  contemplating  the  vast  orbitual  mo- 
tions of  the  heavenly  bodies,  and  tracing 
the  exertion  of  the  forces  in  the  molecules 
to  their  multiplied  exhibition  in  the  spheres, 
it  has  seemed  to  me  that  repulsion  must 
act,  in  all  forms  of  matter,  as  a  reflex  power. 
It  is  never  exerted  by  one  molecule  on 
another,  until  they  are  brought  within  a 
given  distance  of  each  other.  The  circle 
of  attraction  extends  beyond  the  circle  of 
repulsion,  insomuch  that  molecules,  when 
within  given  limits,  are  drawn  towards 
each  other,  with  power  increasing  as  the 
squares  of  their  distances  diminish,  until 
they  have  attained  a  relation  fixed  by  the 
2 


18  COSMOGRAPHY : 

law  of  repulsion.  There  they  become 
stationary,  and  repulsion  maintains  them 
at  specific  distances  from  each  other. 
Force  them  beyond  this  point,  and  they 
re-act  with  visible  energy.  Attraction  is 
constantly  exerting  a  superior  power  up  to 
a  certain  point,  and  a  positive  one  always 
at  all  distances  within  the  circle  of  its  in- 
fluence; whereas  repulsion  begins  to  act 
with  antagonistic  energy  only  at  a  point 
within  the  circle  of  attraction.  Up  to  that 
point,  repulsion  has  exerted  no  energy,  and 
has  been  a  dormant  or  negative  force  in 
the  molecule.  But  at  a  given  point  its 
force  is  awakened ;  and  then  it  becomes 
also  a  positive  power,  but  antagonistic  or 
reflex  in  its  action.  Press  the  molecules 
nearer  to  each  other,  and  this  reflex  force  of 
repulsion  is  clearly  demonstrated. 

If  I  have  clearly  and  correctly  stated 
these  principles  respecting  their  manifesta- 
tion in  molecules,  we  shall  find  a  similar 


VIEWS    OF    THE    UNIVERSE.  19 

exhibition  of  their  magnified  action  in 
spheres  revolving  in  space,  whose  motions 
are  free,  and  so  majestic  and  vast  that  the 
mind  is  almost  bewildered  in  contemplat- 
ing them.  The  Newtonian  philosophy  and 
universal  scientific  observation  have  estab- 
lished beyond  question  the  great  principle 
lying  at  the  foundation  of  celestial  dyna- 
mics, called  attraction  of  gravitation.  Since 
the  sidereal  motion  of  the  universe  was 
discovered,  this  force  has  been  considered 
to  act,  from  the  uttermost  bound  of  stellar 
creations,  towards  some  central  point  in 
infinite  space,  capable  of  controlling  the 
entire  mechanism  of  the  heavens.  It  has 
been  supposed  that  no  other  power  existed 
in  nature  of  so  gigantic  a  character,  and 
that  no  other  was  necessary  to  maintain 
the  equilibrium  and  stability  of  the  universe. 
It  is  supposed  that  gi'avitation  exerts  itself 
in  such  a  manner  as  to  create  a  mutual 
dependence  of  one  celestial  body  or  system 


20  COSMOGRAPHY  : 

upon  another  for  support,  by  the  exercise 
of  its  attraction  in  opposite  directions ;  so 
that  the  entire  sidereal  creation,  from  its 
centre  to  its  outmost  borders,  is  bound  to- 
gether in  harmonious  relations  by  this 
force  alone.  Is  this  a  reasonable  supposi- 
tion ?  Does  it  explain  satisfactorily  the 
mutual  revolutions  in  equal  or  unequal, 
or  in  eccentric  orbits  of  the  double  and 
multiple  stars  ? 

As  no  other  principle  of  universal  power 
has  heretofore  been  suspected  to  exist  in 
the  universe  coextensive  in  its  action  on 
the  cosmical  spheres  with  gravitation,  I 
shall  present  the  supposition  of  a  force  of 
universal  stellar  repulsion,  and  invite  the 
scientific  world  to  demonstrate  that  it  does 
not  exist.  I  shall  present  some  aspects  of 
the  universe,  in  which  it  appears  very  pro- 
bable that  some  gigantic,  antagonistic,  or 
reflex  principle  exerts  an  agency ;  and  phy- 
sical astronomy  must  decide  the  existence 


VIEWS    OF    THE    UNIVERSE.  21 

or  absence  of  such  a  fundamental  power. 
Suppose  the  suns,  with  their  primaries  and 
secondaries,  each  forming  a  stellar  circle, 
to  be  suddenly  created,  more  remote  from 
the  great  attractive  centre  than  they  are  at 
present.  The  central  body  of  each  solar 
system  —  in  other  words,  the  sun  or  star 
itself — will  be  the  body  whose  influence 
will  be  exerted  on  the  other  stars,  and 
which  will  be  attracted  to  the  great  central 
point  of  the  sidereal  universe.  Suppose 
all  to  be  attracted  to  the  great  centre  by 
the  present  existing  power  of  gravitation, 
why  would  not  all  fall,  one  by  one,  suc- 
cessively upon  that  point  ?  If  moving 
with  the  proper  sidereal  motion,  as  at  pre- 
sent, why  would  not  all  be  gathered  in 
gradually,  and  be  swallowed  up  in  that 
centre  ?  If  the  suns  in  the  outer  zones  of 
the  universe  are  attracting  all  their  planets 
toward  their  centres,  and  maintaining  them 
in  harmonious  relation  to  each  other,  still 


22  COSMOGRAPHY : 

the  suns  themselves  must  yield  to  the 
gravitation  whose  action  is  to  converge  all 
stellar  bodies  to  the  great  central  focus. 
The  suns  may  exert  an  attraction  upon 
those  next  to  them,  yet  all  must  yield 
gradually  to  the  irresistible  action  of  the 
one  imperial,  celestial  law. 

Now,  on  the  other  hand,  suppose  the 
suns  suddenly  and  perfectly  formed  as 
before,  and  more  remote  than  at  present 
from  the  great  sidereal  centre.  Let  each 
star  be  endowed  with  a  force  of  repulsion, 
to  remain  negative  or  dormant  within 
itself,  until  awakened  at  a  given  period. 
Let  it,  at  the  same  time,  be  endowed  with 
the  Newtonian  principle  of  gravitation. 
Now  let  the  universe  commence  its  proper 
sidereal  motion,  and  the  stellar  forces  begin 
their  action.  The  stars  will  begin  to  fall 
to  the  central  focus.  All  their  planets  will 
fall  with  them,  as  beautifully  as  the  satel- 
lites of   Saturn  move  with  it  in  its  revo- 


VIEWS    OF    THE    UNIVERSE.  23 

lution  round  the  sun.  The  stars  alone 
sustain  these  vast  and  primary  relations  to 
the  great  sidereal  centre.  Their  planets 
are  but  secondaries  in  this  case,  and  exert 
no  influence  on  other  stellar  circles,  inde- 
pendent of  the  central  solar  powers.  Now 
all  are  converging,  with  accelerating  power, 
to  the  sidereal  centre.  Those  which  ap- 
proach it  first  would  fall  together,  unless 
the  dormant  principle  of  repulsion  was 
awakened  in  them.  What  would  be  the 
result  ?  They  would  assume  a  curvilinear 
course,  to  avoid  each  other,  follow  the 
general  sidereal  motion,  move  around  the 
central  focus,  and  revolve  around  each 
other.  Stars  more  remote,  falling  next  to 
them,  would  encounter  the  same  resist- 
ance to  further  approximation  to  the  cen- 
tre, exert  a  mutual  repulsion,  and  continue 
to  follow  the  general  sidereal  motion.  So 
with  all  the  stars  in  the  universe.  Their 
final  distance  from  each  other  would  de- 


24  COSMOGRAPHY : 

pend  upon  their  mass,  and   the   peculiar 
properties  of  their  material  constitution. 

In  the  organic  acts  by  which  the  stellar 
bodies  were  condensed,  and  made  to  fall 
into  their  present  arrangement  in  space,  it 
is  probable  that  difference  of  dimensions 
and  physical  constitution  would  create 
inequalities  in  the  velocity  of  their  motion. 
This  might  bring  into  definite  relations 
bodies  framed  at  immense  distances  from 
each  other,  and  they  would  necessarily 
form  local  systems  of  mutually  revolving 
suns ;  and,  under  certain  circumstances 
of  approach,  their  repulsive  powers  might 
so  act,  that,  while  one  became  a  central 
and  comparatively  stationary  body,  other 
members  of  the  group  might  be  thrown 
into  retrograde  or  direct  orbits,  and  move 
around  it.  The  arrangement  of  such  clus- 
ters of  stellar  systems  might  be  such  that 
their  centre  of  equilibrium  would  be  so 
near  the  central  star,  that  to  human  vision, 


VIEWS    OF    THE    UNIVERSE.  25 

however  highly  aided,  it  would  appear 
entirely  stationary.  Telescopic  scrutiny 
is  revealing  double  and  multiple  stars,  to 
the  amount  of  many  thousands,  in  both 
hemispheres.  The  difference  in  color  and 
periodical  variations  of  luminous  intensity 
of , some  single,  double,  and  multiple  stars, 
indicate  decided  differences  of  physical 
constitution  among  the  heavenly  bodies. 
Even  in  our  own  system,  diflference  in  size, 
density,  color,  form,  and  distance  of  the 
revolving  orbs,  indicates  radical  differences 
of  physical  combinations,  and  modifica- 
tions of  the  fundamental  powers  which  in 
them  respectively  respond  to  the  great  cen- 
tral solar  forces. 

Now,  what  would  be  the  effect  of  this 
repulsive  principle  upon  the  primaries  of 
these  suns  ?  The  cosmical  bodies  of  our 
system  are  so  near,  that  we  can  contem- 
plate their  motions  with  much  certainty  of 
precision  and  correctness.     We  see  them 


26 


COSMOGRAPHY : 


fall  towards  the  sun,  striving,  with  accele- 
rated velocity,  to  reach  its  centre.  In  a 
path  as  true  as  the  curved  form  of  a  conic 
section,  they  pursue  their  course  until  they 
can  attain  a  point  no  nearer  the  sun  than 
their  perihelia.  Then  they  recede,  not  at 
a  tangent,  but  in  a  similar  curved  line,  so 
as  to  complete  a  perfect  ellipse ;  and  the 
time  which  they  occupy  in  their  vast  revo- 
lutions can  be  computed  to  a  second, 
through  endless  cycles  of  the  past  and  of 
the  future.  Such  would  always  be  the 
case,  if  no  disturbing  forces  were  exerted 
upon  them.  The  laws  governing  their 
motion  are  so  perfect,  that  their  repeated 
revolutions  show  the  matter  in  each  to 
have  been  weighed  by  the  sun  so  accu- 
rately, that  a  molecule  added  or  taken 
away  would  modify  the  degree  of  attrac- 
tion, and  change  the  size  of  their  orbits. 
Heretofore,  it  has  been  supposed  that  the 
definite   and    exact  value   of  these   orbits 


VIEWS    OF    THE    UNIVERSE.  27 

has  been  preserved  unchangeable  by  attrac- 
tions of  the  heavenly  bodies  external  to 
them,  counterbalancing  their  gravitation 
to  the  sun.  It  has  been  supposed  that  the 
planets  have  been  thrown  off  from  the  sun; 
and,  having  received  a  centrifugal  motion 
from  the  rotatory  force  of  the  sun,  they  have 
been  restrained  by  attraction,  and  brought, 
by  the  compound  action  of  these  forces, 
into  an  elliptical  path ;  and  so  they  revolve 
for  ever  around  the  central  body  by  the 
power  of  gravitation  alone.  These  doc- 
trines need  to  be  resurveyed  with  great 
candor  and  care ;  for,  if  an  element  of  uni- 
versal repulsion  should  be  found  to  govern 
the  relations  of  the  heavenly  bodies,  it 
would  greatly  facilitate  the  researches  of 
mathematical  astronomy,  and  lead  to  yet 
more  wonderful  discoveries  in  the  physical 
constitution  of  the  universe. 

In    contemplating   the    motions    of    the 
planets,   we   find    them    moving   in   orbits 


28  COSMOGRAPHY  : 

more  or  less  elliptical,  and   the    sun    not 
occupying  the  centre,  but  one  of  the  foci  of 
the   orbit.      This   position  of  the   central 
body  in  the  planetary  orbits  is  necessary 
for  the   maintenance  of  the   present  rela 
tions  and  economy  of  the  universe.     Sup 
pose  the  earth  to  be  situated  at  a  giver 
distance  from  the  sun,  and  both  at  rest 
Suppose    their    mutual    forces    of   attrac 
tion  and  repulsion  in  perfect  equilibrium 
There  they  would  remain  for  ever  at  rest 
by  their  inertia.     Now,  impart  an  impulse 
to  the  earth.     The  forces  of  attraction  and 
repulsion    being    in    equipoise,    the    earth 
would  move  in  a  perfect  circle  around  the 
sun.     So  would  all  the  planets  under  simi- 
lar relations ;  and,  under  the  same  circum- 
stance, the  secondaries  would  move  in  like 
manner  around  their  respective  primaries. 
But  these  are  not  the  natural  relations  of 
the  cosmical  bodies ;  and  the  forces  exerted 
by  them,  though  capable  of  acting  in  equi- 


VIEWS    OF    THE    UNIVERSE.  29 

librinm,  are  exerted  on  bodies  to  which  an 
impulse  had  been  communicated  previ- 
ously to  their  coming  within  the  influence 
of  the  reflex  power  of  repulsion.  We  will 
again  suppose  our  sun  and  its  attendant 
spheres  to  be  created  suddenly  and  per- 
fectly, but  more  remote  from  the  great 
sidereal  centre  than  their  present  arrange- 
ment. The  sun  would  tend,  with  accele- 
rating velocity,  toward  the  sidereal  focus. 
Its  attraction,  as  a  positive  force,  would  be 
exerted  to  assist  to  carry  it  toward  that 
centre,  until  it  attained  a  certain  point  in 
relation  to  other  suns;  and  there,  attrac- 
tion would  become  inoperative,  and  would 
be  replaced  by  repulsion,  which  would  be 
exerted  to  prevent  a  nearer  approximation 
of  adjacent  stars.  During  the  active  ope- 
ration of  the  sun's  attractive  principle,  the 
planets  would  move  in  the  same  manner, 
and  press  forward  towards  the  solar  cen- 
tre.     Solar   attraction  would   increase   in 


30  COSMOGRAPHY  ! 

intensity,  the  reciprocal  attraction  of  the 
planets  would  be  communicated  to  their 
satellites,  and  all  would  move  with  accu- 
mulating velocity  to  their  respective  central 
bodies.  When  the  earth,  for  instance,  had 
attained  to  that  point  in  space  where  its 
repulsive  power  was  awakened,  in  con- 
nection with  the  repulsive  power  already 
exerted  by  the  sun  to  sustain  its  proper 
relation  to  surrounding  stars,  it  would  be- 
gin to  be  arrested  ;  and,  following  the 
general  sidereal  movement,  would  still 
endeavor  to  reach  the  sun.  At  last  the 
point  of  the  orbit  would  be  reached  when 
the  planet  could  approach  the  sun  no 
nearer,  and  would  be  at  its  perihelion. 
The  accumulated  velocity  which  the  planet 
had  acquired,  during  its  fall  through  space 
to  this  point,  would  drive  it  at  a  tangent 
from  the  sun,  but  for  the  power  of  attrac- 
tion, which  still  holds  it  within  a  defi- 
nite distance.      It  continues  to  move  by 


VIEWS    OF    THE    UNIVERSE.  31 

necessity,  and  hereafter  will  be  acted  on  by 
the  compound  force  of  the  two  powers  of 
attraction  and  repulsion,  which  are  exerted 
through  the  sun  from  the  sidereal  centre. 
An  equipoised  action  of  the  two  forces 
would  exist  only  wJien  the  planet  moved 
in  a  circle  around  the  central  body,  at  uni- 
form radial  distances  from  it.  Moving  in 
an  ellipse,  with  the  sun  in  one  of  its  foci, 
the  two  powers  would  be  exerted  une- 
qually upon  the  revolving  body  in  every 
point  of  its  orbit.  The  power  of  attraction 
would  be  predominant  while  the  planet 
was  approaching  the  central  body,  and 
repulsion  while  it  was  receding  from  it. 
The  regular  action  of  these  forces  upon  all 
revolving  spheres  within  the  circle  of  their 
influence  would  be  to  bring  them  within 
the  range  of  their  equilibrium  ;  but,  being 
exerted  by  the  sun  to  sustain  its  relations 
to  other  stars,  these  forces  are  constantly 
in   a   positive   state   of  action,   alternating. 


32 


COSMOGRAPHY 


their  intensity  only  as  revolving  spheres 
are  brought  within,  or  carried  beyond, 
certain  points  equidistant  from  the  solar 
centre.  Now  in  these  respects  the  attrac- 
tive and  repulsive  motion  of  the  planets,  in 
regard  to  the  sun,  resembles  the  action  of 
molecules  when  they  are  forced  within  or 
beyond  a  certain  point  of  relation  to  each 
other.  This  is  remarkable  ;  and  when  we 
consider  that  the  entire  sidereal  universe  is 
composed  of  cosmical  spheres,  which  are 
merely  vast  agglomerations  of  molecules 
possessing  two  positive  and  known  forces 
of  attraction  and  repulsion,  absolute  and 
reciprocal,  and  that  these  molecules  must 
carry  their  individual  forces  with  them 
under  all  circumstances,  we  must  think  it 
extraordinary  if  only  one  force,  that  of 
multiplied  or  planetary  attraction,  should 
exist,  and  that  the  universal  influence  of 
repulsion  should  be  lost  in  the  agglome- 
ration.     If  this  doctrine  is    examined   by 


VIEWS    OF    THE    UNIVERSE.  33 

astronomers  and  philosophers,  and  applied 
to  the  heavenly  bodies  in  all  its  details 
and  with  mathematical  accuracy,  I  have 
ventm-ed  to  believe  that  it  will  result  in  the 
most  beautiful  harmony  of  numbers,  and 
in  the  simplified  demonstration  of  pheno- 
mena which  have  heretofore  been  myste- 
rious or  inexplicable. 

If  we  extend  this  investigation  one  step 
further,  and  follow  the  moon  in  its  revolu- 
tions round  the  earth,  we  shall  observe  that 
the  dimensions  of  its  orbit  are  inversely  as 
the  distance  of  the  earth  from  the  sun. 
When  the  earth  is  nearest  the  sun,  its 
repulsion  is  the  greatest ;  and  then  the 
moon,  sensible  of  the  influence  of  this 
positive  and  powerful  force,  is  the  most 
remote  from  the  earth.  Being  the  depen- 
dant of  the  earth,  as  the  earth  is  of  the 
sun,  it  is  obedient  to  terrestrial  forces  as  its 
primary  is  obedient  to  solar  forces,  and  as 
the  sun  is  in  like  manner  obedient  to  the 


34  COSMOGRAPHY  : 

great  sidereal  central  forces.  So,  again, 
when  the  earth  is  most  remote  from  the 
sun,  the  moon's  orbit  is  the  smallest,  and 
that  body  is  nearest  the  earth.  Here  the 
repulsive  force  of  the  earth,  superinduced 
by  solar  influence,  has  become  greatly 
diminished ;  and  the  moon,  obedient  to 
attraction,  falls  nearer  to  the  earth. 
Hereby  its  motion  is  accelerated,  and  its 
orbit  diminished  in  size.  Thus  these  in- 
equalities of  the  lunar  orbit  alternate  with 
each  other;  and  the  slightest  changes  are 
compensated  by  the  opposing  forces,  in 
exactly  opposite  points  of  the  earth's  orbit. 
During  the  earth's  advancement  to  its  peri- 
helion, the  attraction  of  the  sun  is  positive. 
The  earth  yields  to  it  with  accelerating 
velocity ;  and,  at  the  same  time,  a  principle 
of  repulsion  is  accumulating  in  it.  The 
moon,  being  the  earth's  dependant,  feels 
this  as  a  positive  power,  and  recedes  pro- 
gressively, until,  at  the  perihelion,  terres- 


VIEWS    OF    THE    UNIVERSE.  35 

trial  repulsion  is  at  its  maximum  :  there 
the  lunar  orbit  is  greatest.  The  intensities 
of  the  terrestrial  and  solar  forces  are  here 
exchanged.  The  sun's  repulsion  becomes 
positive,  and  the  repulsive  power  of  the 
earth  is  gradually  yielded  up.  Attraction 
becomes  predominant  and  positive,  and 
the  moon  falls  again  towards  the  centre  of 
the  earth.  Such  appears  to  be  the  action 
of  these  forces.  Both  undoubtedly  exist ; 
but  a  complete  understanding  of  the  com- 
plex details  of  their  action  I  do  not  pretend 
to  possess.  Future  investigation  must 
establish  the  accurate  operation  and  ad- 
justment of  these  forces.  The  translucency 
of  comets  exhibits,  with  unmistakable  dis- 
tinctness, the  remarkable  fact,  that  alter- 
nating changes  of  molecular  arrangement 
do  take  place  throughout  the  entire  radial 
structure  of  cosmical  spheres,  through  the 
action  of  these  all-pervading  solar  powers. 
The    body    approaches   the    sun,   and   we 


36  COSMOGRAPHY : 

behold  its  volume  diminish,  and  its  parti- 
cles condense,  towards  its  centre.  The 
condensation  of  these  particles  indicates 
the  exertion  of  a  force  upon  the  atomic 
constitution  of  the  comet  which  acts  si- 
milar to  external  pressure ;  and,  as  a 
natural  result,  these  molecules  must  exert 
a  strong  individual  repulsion  upon  each 
other.  The  whole  comet,  then,  at  its  peri- 
helion, through  the  individual  action  of  its 
molecules,  would  be  in  a  high  and  positive 
state  of  tension  and  repulsion.  The  conse- 
quence would  appear  to  follow,  that  this 
body,  by  its  original  momentum,  added 
to  the  velocity  acquired  in  falling  through 
one  half  of  its  orbit,  had  been  impelled  into 
solar  relations  unnatural  to  the  equilibri- 
ous  condition  of  its  molecules,  and  thereby 
a  force  of  repulsion  had  been  awakened  in 
them,  which  reached  its  maximum  when 
the  body  was  at  perihelion ;  and  that  this 
repulsion,  added  to  its  accumulated  velo- 


VIEWS    OF    THE    UNIVERSE.  37 

city  at  that  point,  must  be  the  force  to 
project  it  through  the  receding  half  of  its 
orbit.  The  same  action  must  necessarily 
be  exerted  on  all  other  revolving  spheres ; 
but  their  density  and  physical  constitution 
are  such  that  no  telescopic  observations 
have  as  yet  discovered  any  change  in  their 
form  or  appearance.  Inequalities  in  the 
lunar  orbit,  however,  show  an  exhibition 
of  similar  forces  excited  in  the  molecular 
structure  of  our  own  planet ;  and  geognos- 
tic  phenomena,  which  I  shall  examine 
hereafter,  will  confirm  the  existence  of  the 
positive  and  alternating  operation  of  these 
radial  forces,  and  of  a  powerful  internal 
tension  exerted  from  the  centre  to  the  sur- 
face of  the  globe. 

Of  the  existence  of  these  antagonistic 
powers  of  nature,  their  compound  action, 
and  their  alternating  intensities  exerted  to 
maintain  all  the  celestial  motions  and  the 
stability  of  the  universe,  I  cannot  doubt ; 


286775 


38  COSMOGRAPHY : 

but  the  methods  of  their  operation  are 
complex  and  mysterious.  Still,  the  exer- 
cise of  these  two  powers  in  spheres  should 
excite  no  more  surprise  than  their  exercise 
in  molecules.  We  can  demonstrate  their 
existence  in  either  case  only  by  their 
effects ;  and,  if  a  power  of  attraction,  mul- 
tiplied in  proportion  to  the  accumulation 
of  molecules,  should  be  manifested,  and  the 
opposite  principle  of  repulsion  —  which, 
in  the  isolated  molecule,  accompanied  at- 
traction side  by  side  —  should  be  lost,  or 
become  negative,  we  should  wonder  more 
at  the  method  of  its  extinction  than  at  the 
effects  of  its  exhibition.  The  operation  of 
these  mysterious  principles  on  matter,  or 
their  connection  with  matter,  mankind  per- 
haps may  never  fully  comprehend.  The 
exertion  of  these  great  forces  of  nature, 
growing  out  of  their  connection  with 
matter,  is  no  more  wonderful  than  the 
manifestation  of  the  varied  powers  of  the 


VIEWS    OF    THE    UNIVERSE.  39 

human  understanding,  and  no  more  diffi- 
cult of  explanation  than  the  connection  of 
these  powers  with  the  organized  fibres 
of  the  cerebrum.  Both  lie  deep  in  the 
constitution  of  nature,  and  both  equally 
display  the  most  consummate  wisdom  and 
marvellous  power  of  the  Deity. 

Inquiry,  however,  is  always  legitimate, 
when  based  on  facts ;  and  the  accumula- 
tions of  scientific  research  would  allow,  at 
present,  some  attempt  at  generalization. 

I  have  heretofore  stated,  that,  as  far  as 
my  contemplations  could  trace  the  indwell- 
ings of  the  two  powers  of  attraction  and 
repulsion  in  molecules,  they  resided  re- 
spectively in  foci  equidistant  from  a  given 
axis.  What  would  be  the  mutual  action 
of  molecules  thus  endowed,  at  equal  dis- 
tances from  their  axes,  with  opposite  prin- 
ciples ?  This  is  neither  more  nor  less  than 
the  polarization  of  matter  in  its  ultimate 
state    of  divisibility.      We  shall  conceive 


40  COSMOGRAPHY : 

at  once,  —  if  in  boundless  space,  where 
these  atoms  of  matter  could  move  with  the 
utmost  freedom,  —  that,  if  points  endowed 
with  similar  principles  were  presented  to 
each  other,  motion  would  ensue.  Suppose 
the  universe  of  matter,  in  its  primordial, 
attenuated,  and  molecular  state,  to  be  sud- 
denly endowed  by  the  Almighty  with  these 
two  forces ;  —  being  on  each  side  of  the 
given  axis  of  a  molecule,  universal  rotary 
motion  would  be  imparted  throughout  infi- 
nite space,  nuclei  would  be  established, 
and  matter  would  agglomerate  into  spheri- 
cal forms. 

Whatever  the  special  act  of  the  Creator 
was,  by  which  central  points  or  foci  in 
various  parts  of  the  universe  were  located, 
the  uniform  result  would  follow,  that 
atoms  would  carry  into  their  agglomera- 
tion the  fundamental  forces  and  properties 
which  they  possessed  in  their  original  iso- 
lated   condition.      Thus    their    powers   of 


VIEWS    OF    THE    UNIVERSE.  41 

repulsion  and  attraction  would  be  multi- 
plied in  proportion  to  the  accumulation  of 
molecules,  and  the  effect  of  their  union 
might  be  even  to  intensify  the  forces  ag- 
gregated in  the  mass.  Now,  present  two 
spheres  to  each  other,  thus  formed  and 
thus  endowed.  Both  are  polarized,  and 
endowed  with  opposite  principles,  in  every 
particle  of  their  structure.  They  had  re- 
ceived a  rotatory  motion  during  their  for- 
mation ;  and  it  must  continue  by  a  physical 
necessity,  and  depend  upon  reciprocal  an- 
tagonism of  forces  established  in  the  dawn 
of  their  being.  Here  lies  the  secret  of  rota- 
tion in  the  heavenly  bodies  ;  for  it  is  quite 
clear  to  the  understanding,  as  they  hang 
in  space,  suspended  only  by  the  forces  of 
attraction  and  repulsion,  that  they  must 
always  move  in  such  a  manner  as  to  main- 
tain the  equilibrium  of  forces  exerted  be- 
tween themselves  and  the  bodies  on  which 
they  are  dependent  for  support.      Thus  in 


42  COSMOGRAPHY. 

our  satellite  we  behold  these  forces  adjusted 
to  some  special  manifestation  of  force  in 
the  primary,  and  so  acting  that  the  same 
meridional  areas  of  the  moon  are  always 
presented  to  the  earth. 

This  demonstrates  clearly  that  some  po- 
larizing principle  is  accumulated  on  the 
terrestrial  side  of  the  lunar  axis,  which  re- 
sponds to  an  attractive  influence  pervading 
the  entire  mass  of  our  own  planet.  A 
similar  correspondence  of  phenomena  is 
observed  to  exist  between  Jupiter  and  its 
satellites ;  and,  so  far  as  observation  ex- 
tends, the  same  unique  relations  are  be- 
lieved to  hold  between  the  planet  Saturn 
and  its  numerous  dependencies. 

All  these  inquiries  are  very  curious,  and 
the  phenomena  so  remarkable  that  science 
will  be  richly  rewarded  by  diligent  explo- 
rations of  these  mysterious  paths  through 
the  celestial  universe. 


PAET    II. 

ANALYTICAL,  EXAmNATION  OF  THE  SOLAR   SYSTEM, 

AND  APPLICATION  OF  THE  THEORY  OF 

REPULSION  TO  THE  CREATION 

OF  THE  UNIVERSE. 


PART     IT. 


Having  finished  my  preliminary  remarks, 
I  will  enter  upon  a  plan  of  analysis  of  the 
material  creation,  which  I  trust  may  throw 
new  and  additional  light  upon  the  foot- 
steps of  the  Creator.  To  do  this  as  intel- 
ligibly as  possible,  I  will  name  in  detail 
the  fundamental  forces,  or  rather  the  diffe- 
rent exhibitions  of  the  same  force,  which 
philosophy  declares  to  hold  supreme  con- 
trol over  matter  in  all  its  forms. 

All  atoms  of  matter  are  held  together  by 
a  peculiar  sort  of  force,  called  molecular 
attraction.  This  arranges  molecules  into 
masses. 


46  COSMOGRAPHY : 

All  masses  of  molecules  are  held  to- 
gether by  another  form  of  force,  called 
cohesion. 

Besides  these  forms  of  attractive  force, — 
which,  acting  apparently  in  a  local  and 
conditional  manner,  govern  the  relation  of 
molecules,  and  of  masses  of  heterogeneous 
composition  that  in  the  aggregate  form  the 
globe,  —  another  form  of  the  same  force, 
more  general  and  unconditional,  exists, 
which  binds  all  molecules,  w^hether  isolated 
or  arranged  in  masses,  to  the  centre  of  our 
planet :  this  is  gravity,  or  terrestrial  attrac- 
tion. This  arranges  all  masses  of  matter 
into  a  defined  spherical  form,  and  thus 
maintains  them.  In  other  words,  it  forms 
worlds. 

Another  exhibition  of  physical  force, 
quite  as  wonderful  and  still  more  mighty, 
binds  this  earth  and  all  other  planets  to 
the  sun.  This  form  of  attraction  is  solat 
gravitation. 


VIEWS    OF    THE    UNIVERSE.  47 

The  remaining  form  of  attractive  power 
which  astronomers  have  conjectured  to 
exist,  and  which  binds  all  systems  of  suns 
and  their  dependencies  to  some  great  cen- 
tral focal  point,  might  with  propriety  be 
called  universal  gravitation.  I  have  not 
intended  to  speak  of  the  action  or  results 
of  this  force  particularly ;  but,  if  the  views 
of  creation,  which  have  been  awakened  in 
my  mind,  be  true  respecting  the  earth  and 
solar  system  that  are  mainly  within  reach 
of  observation  and  mathematical  calcula- 
tion, then,  as  complete  harmony  reigns 
throughout  the  works  of  God,  the  same 
great  laws  will  appear  to  preside  over  the 
entire  universe. 

The  principles  on  which  I  shall  attempt 
my  analysis  of  the  material  creation  will 
be  based  on  these  different  exhibitions  of 
force  which  have  been  long  known,  and 
admitted  to  be  governing  properties  of 
matter.     The  first  two  are  familiar  to  com- 


48  COSMOGRAPHY : 

mon  philosophy.  With  the  last  three, 
astronomers  are  especially  familiar,  as  they 
form  the  basis  of  the  mathematical  truths 
which  so  highly  distinguish  their  sublime 
studies. 

The  necessity  of  the  most  rigid  analysis 
in  these  researches  must  be  admitted,  be- 
cause the  truths  sought  are  sublime  in 
character;  and,  once  established,  their  im- 
portance will  be  as  valuable  to  science  as 
the  great  planetary  laws  unfolded  by  Co- 
pernicus, Kepler,  or  Newton.  The  views 
which  have  been  deeply  impressed  upon 
my  mind  do  not  conflict  with  the  discove- 
ries of  these  remarkable  men ;  but,  if  true, 
they  will  enlarge  the  field  of  natural  laws, 
and  give  a  new  impulse  to  scientific  in- 
quiry in  searching  out  the  wonders  of  the 
worlds  above  and  of  the  earth  beneath. 

The  largest  and  most  accurate  results  in 
mathematics  ^  are  arrived  at  by  using  an 
assumption    as    the    basis    of  calculation. 


VIEWS    OF    THE    UNIVERSE.  49 

Even  Kepler's  laws  were  established  by 
the  most  laborious  researches  of  this  sort ; 
and,  in  a  branch  of  inquiry  so  purely  philo- 
sophical as  that  proposed,  while  I  govern 
myself  by  strictly  inductive  argument, 
based  on  facts,  it  must  not  be  expected  for 
mathematics  to  take  part  in  the  analysis, 
but  only  in  the  establishment  of  the  great 
truths  promulgated.  Facts  and  philoso- 
phy must  reveal  physical  truth ;  further 
observation  and  mathematics  confirm  it. 

The  course  which  I  purpose  to  adopt, 
to  make  my  views  the  most  intelligible, 
is  to  unbind,  one  by  one,  the  forces  of 
nature,  and  set  matter  completely  free ; 
and  to  present  it  to  the  mind  unsubjected 
to  the  control  of  any  physical  law.  To 
annihilate  at  once  all  the  attractive  and 
gravitative  forces  would  confuse  the  argu- 
ment, and  we  should  arrive  at  less  satisfac- 
tory results.  To  connect  the  analysis  of 
4 


50  COSMOGRAPHY : 

our  solar  system  with  that  of  other  sys- 
tems would  render  inquiry  complex,  and 
embarrass  the  understanding. 

I  shall,  therefore,  at  present  suppose  that 
our  solar  system  is  the  only  and  entire 
universe,  excepting  immensity  of  space ; 
that  the  whole  stellar  creation  has  no  be- 
ing, and  that  no  physical  force  depending 
on  or  derived  from  it  exists ;  in  a  word, 
that  the  sun  and  its  planets  comprise  the 
whole  creation,  and  are  uncontrolled  by 
any  external  law.  By  this  position,  I 
unbind  the  solar  system  from  the  law  of 
universal  gravitation,  and  the  sun  would 
be  its  central  and  a  stationary  body. 

In  the  second  place,  suppose  the  power 
of  solar  gravitation,  and  all  planetary  at- 
traction, so  far  as  they  control  the  motion 
of  the  earth,  to  be  suddenly  and  entirely 
suspended.  The  result  would  be  that  the 
earth  would  quit  its  orbit,  and  move  in- 
definitely in  a  straight  line.     Thus  it  is 


VIEWS    OF    THE    UNIVERSE.  51 

wholly  free  in  space,  and  is  uncontrolled 
by  any  external  law.  It  rotates  on  its 
axis,  and  is  bound  together  by  the  extraor- 
dinary internal  forces  of  gravity,  cohesion, 
and  molecular  attraction.  Suspend  the 
action  of  these  forces  one  after  the  other : 
what  will  be  the  result?  Take  away  gra- 
vity ;  the  whole  mass  immediately  expands 
to  an  indefinite  degree.  Destroy  cohesion; 
its  rotatory  motion  rends  it  into  fragments. 
Those  forms  of  matter,  as  the  metals, 
which,  in  the  present  state  of  the  globe, 
are  the  heaviest,  would  become  equally 
light  as  the  most  attenuated  substances. 
All  solid  or  sensible  form  of  matter  would 
be  resolved.  Annihilate  molecular  attrac- 
tion ;  the  ultimate  atoms  (still  possessing 
a  repulsive  principle)  would  be  wholly  un- 
bound from  each  other,  and  would  exist  in 
the  most  simple,  attenuated,  and  aeriform 
condition ;  so  infinitesimal  and  so  indefi- 
nitely ultimate,  as   to   defy  all  reason  or 


52  COSMOGRAPHY ! 

imagination  to  give  them  form  or  being, 
or  even  the  susceptibilities  of  motion  or 
activity.  That  would  be  the  ultimate 
divisibility  of  matter. 

This  is  a  reasonable  and  just  conclusion 
from  all  the  assumptions  laid  down.  The 
results  of  abrogating  all  these  natural 
forces  would  be  as  positive  as  is  the  exist- 
ence of  present  forms  of  matter  governed 
by  these  same  forces.  Let  them  all  be 
abrogated  at  once,  and  let  this  suspension 
be  applied  to  all  the  revolving  spheres  in 
our  system :  the  result  would  be  their  dis- 
persion to  remote  regions  of  space ;  the 
immediate  expansion  of  their  masses,  as 
they  receded  from  the  sun ;  their  simulta- 
neous dissolution  into  fragments,  and  into 
the  ultimate  and  simple  condition  of  their 
primordial  molecules. 

Thus  all  the  cosmical  bodies  of  this  sys- 
tem, except  the  sun,  would  be  reduced  to 
their  original  elements. 


VIEWS    OF    THE    UNIVERSE.  53 

In  resolving  the  sun  back  to  its  original 
elements  by  the  process  which  has  been 
adopted  with  the  earth,  it  will  be  observed 
that  we  set  at  liberty  forms  or  properties 
of  matter  which  differ  from  those  com- 
posing the  planets.  That  form  of  matter 
which  has  been  created  as  the  vast  store- 
house of  light  and  heat  for  its  attendant 
opaque  spheres,  is  to  radiate  in  all  direc- 
tions its  material,  subtile,. and  self-luminous 
molecules.  Its  own  solar  gravity  being, 
annihilated,  its  mass  expands  indefinitely. 
Its  rotatory  motion  rends  it  to  pieces ;  and 
its  luminous  and  opaque  fragments,  ma- 
terial and  gaseous,  are  projected  in  all 
directions,  from  its  centre  towards  the  con- 
fines of  the  solar  domain.  The  cohesive 
and  molecular  forces  being  abrogated,  the 
whole  solar  orb  would  be  dissolved  into 
its  original  highly  attenuated  and  self- 
luminous  elements,  and  be  mingled  with 
the  elements  of  the  other  cosmical  bodies. 


54  cosmography: 

The  hidden  forces  of  repulsion,  by  which 
the  sun,  as  an  orb,  possesses  the  wonderful 
powers  of  sustaining  the  revolving  spheres 
at  certain  and  definite  distances  from  itself, 
would  still  attach  to  its  ultimate  particles ; 
and  the  same  differing  polarity  would  exist 
in  the  molecules  filling  up  infinite  space, 
which  at  present  exists  among  all  the  bo- 
dies constituting  the  solar  system. 

By  this  method  of  investigation,  we  can 
just  as  certainly  arrive  back  at  the  original 
condition  of  matter,  and  prove  that  the 
planets  had  no  existence  as  spheres  at 
some  unknown  age  of  the  universe,  as 
we  can  demonstrate,  by  removing  stratum 
after  stratum  of  organic  remains,  that,  at 
some  former  age  of  the  earth,  there  was 
neither  animal  nor  vegetable  life  upon  its 
surface.  One  fact  is  quite  as  certain,  and 
almost  as  demonstrable,  as  the  other.  Ob- 
servation of  geological  facts  proves  the 
latter.     The  powers  of  logic  and  mathe- 


VIEWS    OF    THE    UNIVERSE.  55 

matics,  in  the  solution  of  physical  laws, 
establish  the  former. 

Having  attained,  by  the  preceding  me- 
thod of  research,  what  I  believe  to  have 
been  the  original  and  differing  condition  of 
the  material  molecules  at  present  compos- 
ing the  solar  system,  I  shall  assume  it  as  a 
fact,  and  commence  the  constructive  part 
of  my  argument. 

The  assumption,  then,  on  which  I  base 
my  theory  of  the  universe  is  this,  —  that 
the  matter  constituting  the  present  solar 
system  was,  at  some  incalculably  remote 
epoch,  diffused  throughout  space,  and  ex- 
isted only  in  the  most  attenuate  state  of 
being  ;  and  that  the  forces  which  now  con- 
trol created  worlds  had  not  been  ordained 
to  exert  their  energies  on  the  primordial 
molecules. 

Scientific  research  proclaims  the  sun  to 
be  a  mass  of  matter,  differing  in  funda- 


56  COSMOGRAPHY ! 

mental  properties  from  the  opaque  spheres 
which  revolve  around  it.  Its  position,  as 
the  central  body  of  the  solar  system,  con- 
trolling the  motions  and  phenomena  of  all 
bodies  external  to  it,  demonstrates  its  origin 
to  have  differed  from  theirs,  and  to  have 
been  a  more  important  act  of  creation.  It 
is  self-evident  that  the  sun,  or  the  universal 
energy  residing  in  its  centre,  must  have 
been  created  and  located  antecedent  to 
the  existence  of  bodies  dependent  on  it  for 
their  support. 

Divine  Wisdom  having  located  the  solar 
focus,  and  originated  solar  gravity  (not 
that  force  called  solar  gravitation,  by  which 
planets  are  drawn  to  the  centre  of  the  sun, 
but  its  internal,  accumulative  force,  on 
which  its  special  material  creation  de- 
pended), the  material  particles,  subject  to 
this  peculiar  attractive  power,  felt  its  influ- 
ence, and  concentrated  around  it,  as  grains 
of  ferruginous  sand  fly  towards  loadstone. 


VIEWS    OF    THE    UNIVERSE.  57 

The  energy  of  this  local  force  was  com- 
municated simultaneously  to  the  extreme 
boundaries  of  solar  empire ;  and  all  matter 
obedient  to  it  converged  to  the  solar  focus. 
The  molecular  and  cohesive  forces  exert- 
ing their  power  also,  the  vast,  opaque,  solid 
solar  sphere  was  in  due  time  formed ;  and 
around  it  flowed  oceans  of  gaseous  fluid, 
intensely  refulgent.  These  envelops  must 
be  composed  of  the  last  and  most  aeriform 
molecules,  which  were  elected  by  solar  gra- 
vity to  compose  the  sun. 

At  this  period,  —  the  close  of  the  sun- 
forming  epoch, —  probably  originated  that 
numerous  class  of  eccentric  and  curious 
bodies  which  so  astonished  mankind  in 
past  ages,  and  whose  character  has  defied 
the  researches  of  science  and  philosophy. 

I  will  consider  at  some  length  the  na- 
ture of  these  bodies,  as  it  is  in  connection 
with  them  that  I  venture  to  propound  the 
existence  of  a  law  which  applies  equally  to 


58  cosmography: 

all  revolving  spheres  in  the  solar  system, 
and   to   the   whole   universe   of    cosmical 
creations.      I   present    it   with    conflicting 
feelings  of  doubt,  delicacy,  and  confidence. 
The  first  have  embarrassed  me,  because  I 
possess   not  that   measure   of   knowledge 
requisite   to   determine   the   mathematical 
details  of  its   applicability.      The   second 
have  oppressed  me,  because  it  seems  like 
innovation  in  a  science  whose  wonderful 
problems  have  been  solved  by  genius  of 
the  highest  order,  on  principles  of  celestial 
mechanics,  considered  sufficiently  accurate 
to  yield   the   most  truthful   results.      But 
I  have  been  at  last  emboldened,  because  it 
was  my  conviction  that  some  great,  secret 
agency  was  lying  behind  unexplained  phe- 
nomena so  sublime  and  gigantic  in  char- 
acter, that  a  universal   force  alone  could 
produce   them ;    and    that    an   ever-active 
principle    of   universal    repulsion   was    as 
necessary  for  the  stability  and  harmonious 


VIEWS    OF    THE    UNIVERSE. 


59 


developments  of  the  universe,  as  the  beau- 
tiful Newtonian  truth  of  gravitation.  Mu- 
tual attraction  and  mutual  repulsion,  local 
and  universal,  are  twin  principles  lying  in 
opposite  points  of  the  great  circle  of  physi- 
cal events.  They  are  inexhaustible  foun- 
tains of  power,  between  which  hang  atoms, 
globes,  suns,  and  systems,  striving  for 
equilibrium  ;  refreshing  their  ceaseless  mo- 
tions with  new  forces,  and  accomplishing 
silently,  from  cycle  to  cycle,  the  inexplica- 
ble destinies  of  their  creation. 

In  like  manner  as  the  opaque  and  solid 
mass  of  the  sun  resembles  the  opaque  and 
solid  condition  of  the  planets  which  revolve 
around  it,  so  does  its  refulgent  gaseous 
envelop,  with  its  radiant  zodiacal  light, 
resemble  the  cometary  bodies  and  their 
luminous  appendages.  Comets,  in  all 
their  elements,  plainly  direct  our  conjec- 
tures to  trace  their  origin  to  solar  sources. 


60  COSMOGRAPHY  : 

What  does  the  eccentricity  of  their  orbits 
indicate  ?  That  they  originated  in  the 
remotest  confines  of  the  solar  domain,  and 
that  the  atmosphere  of  the  sun  was  drawn 
from  regions,  as  far  at  least  as  they  can 
recede  into  space.  What  do  the  various 
degrees  of  inclination  and  obliquity  of  their 
orbits  to  the  plane  of  the  sun's  equator 
indicate?  That  the  elementary  molecules, 
constituting  the  great  central  body,  became 
obedient  to  the  creative  forces  of  molecular 
attraction,  cohesion,  and  solar  gravity,  in 
all  directions  from  its  centre.  What  do 
the  varying  orbitual  motions  —  almost  as 
frequently  retrograde  as  direct  —  indicate? 
That  their  formation  took  place  under 
different  circumstances,  and  probably  at  a 
different  time,  from  the  formation  of  the 
planets,  and  that  they  were  created  in 
direct  relation  to  the  sun  ;  and  that,  as 
luminous  masses,  destined  to  make  up  the 
bulk  of  the  solar  atmosphere,  they  were 


VIEWS    OF    THE    UNIVERSE.  61 

arrested  by  sudden  repulsive  forces,  and 
diverted  into  orbits  of  endless  irregularity. 
The  various  and  highly  eccentric  forms  of 
their  orbits  ;  the  endless  diversity  of  incli- 
nation and  obliquity  of  these  orbits  to  the 
plane  of  the  sun's  equator ;  the  equally 
frequent  retrograde  and  direct  motions  of 
these  bodies  themselves,  as  well  as  their 
physical  nature  and  appearance,  —  all  de- 
clare, with  unmistakable  significancy,  that 
their  origin  differs  altogether  from  that  of 
the  planetary  orbs,  and  that  they  are  more 
nearly  allied  in  nature  to  the  gaseous  en- 
velops of  the  sun  than  to  any  other  form  of 
matter  in  the  universe. 

Now  we  will  examine  these  extraordinary 
gaseous  spheres  more  in  detail.  When  very 
remote  from  the  sun,  they  all  appear  alike 
in  form,  and  no  diversity  of  nature  is  obser- 
vable in  them.  The  further  they  recede 
from  the  sun,  the  more  they  expand  in  bulk ; 
their  outline  becomes  less  defined  ;  they  di- 


62  COSMOGRAPHY : 

minish  in  refulgence,  and  fade  away  entirely 
from  the  sight.  It  is  only  when  comets 
approach  the  sun,  that  they  exhibit  pecu- 
liar and  astonishing  characters.  When  near 
enough  to  be  observed  with  mathematical 
distinctness,  they  are  seen  to  diminish  in 
size,  to  grow  brighter  throughout,  and  be- 
come more  defined  in  their  circumference, 
and  more  dense  and  luminous  at  their  centre. 
Sometimes  suddenly,  sometimes  gradually, 
a  train  of  light,  varying  in  appearance  in 
different  comets,  is  projected  in  a  direction 
opposite  to  the  sun.  This  increases  in 
brightness,  size,  or  length,  and  the  whole 
sphere  in  refulgence,  until  it  passes  its 
perihelion,  when  all  these  extraordinary  phe- 
nomena, which  have  been  awakened  by 
solar  influence,  gradually  grow  less  marked, 
until  the  comet  is  resolved  to  a  pale,  misty, 
loosely-defined  gaseous  sphere,  dilating  as 
it  advances  into  remote  regions  of  space. 
What  are  the  solar  forces  which  occasion 


VIEWS    OF    THE    UNIVERSE.  63 

the  change  in  absolute  dimension,  the  in- 
creased density  and  brightness  of  the  centre, 
and  the  wonderful  luminous  appendages, 
of  this  class  of  celestial  bodies  ?  To  facili- 
tate research,  this  inquiry  may  be  divided 
into  two  parts.  What  power  causes  a 
contraction  of  comets,  and  an  increased 
density  and  brightness  of  their  centre,  as 
they  approach  the  sun  ?  and  why  do  they 
expand,  and  become  more  rare  and  less 
refulgent,  at  their  centres,  as  they  recede 
from  the  sun  ?  The  elucidation  of  this 
question  must  form  one  of  the  most 
important  investigations  in  astronomical 
science,  and  lead  to  the  establishment  of  a 
celestial  law,  equal  in  importance  to  that 
of  gravitation,  and  ranging,  side  by  side, 
with  it,  in  all  calculations  of  the  motions 
of  the  heavenly  bodies. 

Philosophical  study,  and  experiment  on 
various  forms  of  matter  composing  this 
planet,  have  made  us  acquainted  with  the 


64  COSMOGRAPHY : 

fundamental  principle,  that  no  two  mole- 
cules are  in  absolute  contact  with  each 
other  ;  that  they  are  endowed  with  forces  of 
attraction  and  repulsion,  which  maintain 
them  at  fixed  distances  from  each  other, 
and  restore  them  to  this  state  of  equi- 
librium, when  it  is  disturbed  by  external 
causes. 

This  is  an  established  law,  underlying 
all  the  exhibitions  of  physical  force  within 
human  observation,  chemical  affinity,  mole- 
cular attraction,  cohesion,  adhesion,  and 
terrestrial  gravity.  It  is  clear,  if  such  a  law 
preside  over  the  structure  of  a  grain  of  sand, 
it  must  also  over  that  of  its  parent  rock,  and 
so  over  that  of  the  whole  mountain  mass 
from  which  that  rock  was  torn,  and  so 
throughout  the  structure  of  the  whole 
globe.  However  movable  the  fluids  com- 
posing the  ocean  or  atmosphere,  the  same 
principle  prevails  in  their  molecular  rela- 
tions.     Whatever    the    form     of    matter. 


VIEWS    OF    THE    UNIVERSE.  65 

however  subtile,  however  dense,  there  reign 
the  antagonistic  energies  of  this  law. 

This  being  an  established  physical  law, 
it  must  prevail  universally  throughout  the 
entire  realm  of  matter. 

The  material  constitution  of  comets  has 
never  been  questioned :  all  telescopic  ob- 
servations, all  analogies,  prove  their  nuclei 
to  be  of  a  more  or  less  dense  molecular 
structure.  If  so,  then  their  entire  mass 
must  be  subject  to  contraction  and  expan- 
sion, depending  on  the  mutually  attractive 
or  repulsive  condition  of  their  constituent 
molecules.  For  a  change  of  this  sort  to  be 
aroused  throughout  their  entire  molecular 
mass,  from  centre  to  periphery,  some  all- 
pervading  and  omnipotent  disturbing  force 
must  be  exerted.  As  comets  approach  the 
sun,  they  contract  in  volume ;  as  they 
recede,  they  dilate.  The  disturbing  power, 
then,  which  causes  this  visible  and  remark- 
able change  in  theix  dimensions,  lies  in  the 
Si 


66  COSMOGRAPHY : 

central  body.  What  is  it?  It  is  a  force 
which  evidently  acts  on  the  revolving 
bodies,  in  the  same  manner  as  mechanical 
pressure  acts  on  matter  under  human 
control.  I  call  it  cosmical  repulsion ;  and  I 
hope  in  the  sequel  to  demonstrate  its 
action  on  the  solid  planets,  as  positively  as 
we  see  its  exhibition  on  the  gaseous  spheres. 
The  promulgation  of  the  idea  will  create 
profound  and  candid  inquiry  in  various 
ways ;  and  I  trust  to  future  observation, 
more  than  to  my  present  argument,  to 
establish  the  truth  of  a  universal  law,  like 
the  following: —  THat  cosmical  spheres  pos- 
sess a  power  of  repulsion,  hy  which  they  are 
prevented  for  ever  from  falling  together,  and 
by  which  they  are  sustained  in  their  orbits, 
at  fixed  distances  from  the  sun; —  in  other 
words,  that  all  cosmical  spheres  possess  a 
vital  centre,  from  ivhich  is  constantly  radia- 
ting repulsive  forces,  acting  on  similar  and 
distant  spheres,  in  proportion  to  their  size, 
density,  or  other  physical  susceptibilities. 


VIEWS    OF    THE    UNIVERSE.  67 

Comets  being  of  a  gaseous  character, 
the  mobility  of  their  molecules  must  be 
very  sensible  and  very  free.  Being  as 
subject  to  the  great  law  of  solar  repulsion 
as  the  planets,  they  show  a  positive  and 
perceptible  change  in  their  volume,  which 
cannot  be  so  easily  detected  in  the  planets, 
in  consequence  of  their  great  density.  Be- 
sides, possessing  a  near  resemblance  to  the 
solar  atmosphere,  and  being  governed  as 
much  by  relations  to  it  as  to  the  sun's 
opaque  mass,  they  are  more  easily  acted  on 
by  light  and  heat,  or  the  electric  forces  of 
the  solar  rays.  Impelled  by  the  great  law 
of  attraction,  these  cometary  bodies  fell 
from  the  regions  of  space,  where  their  ma- 
terials had  been  condensed,  in  a  straight 
line  toward  the  centre  of  the  sun ;  and 
they  continued  to  fall,,  until  they  began  to 
encounter  the  influence  of  the  antagonistic 
law  of  repulsion.  At  this  point,  they  began 
to  deviate  from  the  straight  line  ;  and  their 


PS  COSMOGRAPHY : 

course  was  bent  into  a  curve,  more  or  less 
modified,  according  as  the  repulsive  influ- 
ence exerted  between  these  bodies  and  the 
sun  affected  the  projectile  or  gravitative 
motion  already  imparted  to  them.  Thus 
they  advanced  toward  the  sun  with  ac- 
cumulating velocity.  Feeling  more  and 
more  within  their  mass  the  influence  of 
a  solar  force  acting  like  repulsion,  their 
molecules  condense,  and  gather  more  com- 
pactly around  their  centre;  and  thereby 
they  acquire  an  accumulating  tension,  and 
more  energetic  repulsive  forces  of  their 
own.  By  the  self-regulating  energy  of 
their  own  central  powers,  they  are  con- 
stantly maintained  at  definite  distances 
from  the  central  body.  Meantime  that 
central  body  is  drawing  them  forward  with 
a  power  increasing  in  intensity  as  the 
squares  of  their  distances  diminish.  An 
accumulating  repulsive  action  is  generated 
in  these  bodies,  at  the  same  time  that  the 


VIEWS    OF    THE    UNIVERSE.  69 

positive  and  predominant  agency  of  the 
sun  is  exerted  to  draw  them  toward  itself. 
In  this  manner  these  antagonistic  forces 
exert  their  energies,  and  in  a  measure  con- 
trol each  other,  until  comets  attain  their 
nearest  possible  approach  to  the  sun.  At 
their  perihelia,  these  antagonistic  forces 
exhibit  their  greatest  power;  and,  having 
been  impelled  into  relations  wholly  at  vari- 
ance with  an  equipoised  condition  of  these 
forces,  the  moving  spheres  must  change 
their  position  by  an  imperious  physical 
necessity.  Once  in  motion,  celestial  bo- 
dies must  continue  to  move  through  all 
time ;  and  so  these  bodies  would  recede 
from  the  sun,  moving  conjointly  by  radial 
repulsive  influences,  and  the  momentum 
imparted  at  their  perihelia ;  which  momen- 
tum would  be  the  accumulated  velocity 
acquired  during  their  fall  to  their  perihelia, 
from  that  point  in  space  where  their  foci 
of  atomic  agglomeration  were  located  by 


70  COSMOGRAPHY : 

the  will  of  God.  Never  relieved  from  solar 
attraction,  their  receding  motion  is  neces- 
sarily a  curved  one,  and  at  last  they  fall 
into  that  path  which  they  assumed  when 
first  forced  to  deviate  from  a  rectilinear 
course.  The  path  of  a  revolving  sphere 
once  defined,  there  it  must  remain  for  ever, 
unless  modified  by  the  influence  of  some 
disturbing  forces. 

On  the  principles  of  this  illustration,  it 
appears  to  me  that  the  celestial  motions 
may  be  calculated  with  more  simplicity ; 
and  that  phenomena  which  heretofore  have 
greatly  perplexed  astronomers,  and  which 
even  now  are  not  explained  without  diffi- 
culty, may  be  rendered  harmonious  and 
satisfactory. 

In  expressing  so  concisely  the  preceding 
views  on  the  causes  of  the  contraction 
and  expansion  of  comets,  and  the  alter- 
nating density  of  their  nuclei  as  they  ap- 


VIEWS    OF    THE    UNIVERSE.  71 

proach  and  recede  from  the  sun,  I  hope  to 
have  been  sufficiently  clear  for  the  reader 
to  comprehend  them.  Being  new,  and 
difficult  of  explanation,  they  may  be  better 
understood  perhaps  after  the  examination 
of  similar  changes  which  take  place  in 
the  solid  planets.  The  increasing  and  de- 
creasing brightness  of  their  nuclei,  as  they 
approach  or  recede  from  the  neighborhood 
of  the  sun,  coming  more  properly  under 
the  second  division  of  the  question,  I  shall 
unite  that  subject  with  the  inquiry  into 
the  nature  of  the  luminous  appendages 
which  distinguish  some  of  these  eccentric 
and  wonderful  bodies. 

Astronomers,  without  exception,  cannot, 
so  far  as  I  am  informed,  divest  their 
minds  of  the  belief  that  the  tails  of  comets 
are  material,  and  are  composed  of  matter 
similar  to  that  constituting  the  nucleus, 
and  that  they  are  poured  out  from  it.  I 
hope  to  be  able  to  give  a  new  direction 


72  COSMOGRAPHY : 

to  inquiry,  and  to  make  an  important  sug- 
gestion, on  this  interesting  subject.  The 
simple  fact,  that  these  appendages  some- 
times appear  and  disappear  under  the 
observations  of  the  telescope,  and  always 
in  a  direction  opposite  to  the  sun,  should 
be  sufficient  to  destroy  all  belief  in  their 
material  constitution,  or  that  they  were 
composed  of  material  emanations  from  the 
nucleus. 

Comets  contract  in  volume,  become  more 
defined  in  their  circumference,  brighter 
throughout,  and  particularly  bright  and 
more  dense  in  their  centre,  as  they  ap- 
proach the  sun.  These  characteristics  all 
grow  more  intense,  until  the  comet  passes 
its  perihelion,  when  they  gradually  dimi- 
nish, and  the  comet  fades  away  into  an 
ill-defined,  misty  spot,  which  finally  is  lost 
in  space.  The  question  is.  What  are  the 
solar  forces  which  produce  these  luminous 
phenomena  ? 


VIEWS    OF    THE    UNIVERSE.  73 

I  have  already  shown  with  great  proba- 
bility, that  the  physical  structure  of  comets 
is  similar  to  the  gaseous  and  luminous 
fluids  which  surround  the  sun,  and  that 
they  are  vestiges  of  the  primordial  molecu- 
lar masses  which  were  drawn  towards  the 
sun  to  constitute  its  envelop,  becoming 
endowed,  by  laws  attached  to  that  form 
of  matter,  with  central  forces  of  their  own, 
by  which  they  are  maintained  at  fixed 
distances  from  the  sun,  and  revolve  around 
that  orb. 

The  present  state  of  knowledge  allows 
us  to  believe  that  the  sun  is  an  opaque, 
solid  globe  ;  that  one  stratum  of  its  at- 
mosphere is  intensely  refulgent,  and  the 
source  of  rays  which,  highly  endowed  with 
calorific,  luminous,  and  electrical  forces, 
stimulate  with  kindred  powers  all  the 
spheres  which  revolve  around  it,  and  on 
which  these  rays  fall.  Why  should  comets 
not  feel  the  stimulating  influence  of  these 


74  COSMOGRAPHY  : 

rays,  as  well  as  the  gaseous  envelop  of 
our  own  globe  ?  and  why  should  not  che- 
mical, electrical,  and  mechanical  action  be 
excited  among  their  molecules,  as  well  as 
on  the  surface  of  this  planet  ?  There  are 
certain  forms  of  transparent  solid  matter 
on  this  earth,  which,  exposed  to  the  rays  of 
light,  reflect  and  refract  those  rays  with 
intense  resplendency  ;  and  not  only  so,  but 
absorb  them  so  as  to  radiate  light  for  some 
time  afterwards.  Why,  then,  may  not 
forms  of  matter,  which  are  allied  in  com- 
position to  the  luminous  envelops  of  the 
sun,  receive  such  impressions  from  its  rays 
as  to  stimulate  their  natural  forces,  and 
thus  to  renew  the  energy  and  luminous 
character  of  those  rays,  and  transmit  them 
beyond  into  infinite  space  with  all  the 
velocity  of  light  emanating  directly  from 
the  sun  ?  Such  I  believe  to  be  the  case, 
and  a  reasonable  explanation  of  the  tails 
of  comets.     The  various   forms    of    these 


VIEWS    OF    THE    UNIVERSE.  75 

appendages,  and  the  fact  that  some  comets 
possess  none  at  all,  furnish  data  for  the 
study  of  their  physical  constitution. 

In  examining  particularly  that  class  of 

comets  exhibiting  tails,  v/e  find  the  various 

degrees  of  transmitted  light  to  produce  all 

the  effects  which  have   been  observed  in 

these   bodies  from   remotest    time.      The 

great  accumulation  of  material  molecules 

at    their    centres  —  in    other    words,    the 

density  of  their  centres,  though  increasing 

their  direct  light,  does  not  allow  so  free  a 

transmission   of  solar  rays,   as   the   more 

diffuse   condition   of    their    exterior  parts. 

Hence  the  hollow  appearance  of  the  tails 

of  various  comets,  and  the  more  intense 

luminous   appearance    of    the   upper   and 

lower    portions,    or    the    double    tail.      A 

certain    degree    of    density,    or    chemical 

constitution   of  the   transparent   particles, 

would  produce   the  refrangibility  of  solar 

rays,  which,  in  some  comets,  have  projected 


76 


COSMOGRAPHY : 


tails  formed  like  a  fan.  Any  form  of  lumi- 
nous appendage  may  be  explained  on  this 
hypothesis ;  and  it  may  even  be  presumed 
that  the  same  comet  will  present  different 
appearances  at  different  times,  in  conse- 
quence of  the  extreme  mobility  of  its  con- 
stituent molecules,  and  of  their  differing 
relation  to  each  other  at  various  times. 

The  interesting  experiments  of  Arago, 
made  on  the  great  comet  of  1819,  and  on 
Halley's  comet  in  1835,  with  the  polari- 
scope,  sustain  these  opinions  of  the  nature 
of  comets  with  singular  force.  He  showed 
that  only  a  very  small  portion  of  the  come- 
tary  rays,  which  strike  our  eye,  are  reflected 
from  the  sun.  It  may  be  strictly  said,  that, 
with  slight  exception,  comets  shine  with 
direct  and  not  reflected  light.  This  is  an 
astonishing  fact,  and  of  great  weight  in  this 
inquiry.  The  planets  and  moons  all  shine 
with  light  reflected  from  the  sun.  The 
sun,  comets,  and  stars  all  shine  with  direct 


VIEWS    OF    THE    UNIVERSE.  77 

light,  —  that  is,  with  light  not  reflected 
from  another  body,  but  generated  within 
themselves.  These  experiments  of  Arago 
are  of  immense  scientific  value,  and,  with 
the  contemplations  herein  presented,  may 
throw  new  light  on  the  physical  constitu- 
tion of  comets,  and  open  a  new  path  of 
astronomical  inquiry,  which  may  lead  to 
brilliant  discoveries  as  to  the  original,  as 
well  as  to  the  present,  physical  constitu- 
tion of  the  universe. 

Some  comets  exhibit  no  tails.  This 
fact  shows  a  difference  only  in  their  physi- 
cal structure  as  a  peculiar  class  of  bodies. 
The  sun  has  several  gaseous  envelops : 
one  is  self-luminous,  and  radiates  its  light 
with  intense  power  and  activity  ;  another  is 
misty,  and  would  not  transmit  direct  light, 
unless  illuminated  and  stimulated  by  the 
power  behind  it.  So  with  this  variety  of 
comets.  They  receive  the  direct  action 
of  the  sun's  rays,  which  immediately  illu- 


78  COSMOGRAPHY : 

minates  them  ;  and  the  nearer  they  approach 
the  central  body,  the  more  strongly  their 
internal  forces  are  stimulated,  and  a  self-lu- 
minous property  is  generated  within  them. 
In  fact,  they  may  never  be  destitute  of  this 
property,  and  probably  are  not.  But,  like 
all  other  revolving  spheres,  their  internal 
forces  sustain  definite  relations  to  the  great 
central  solar  forces,  in  proportion  to  their 
distance  from  that  centre.  As  they  draw 
near  the  sun,  they  feel  its  influence.  Their 
powers  for  generating  light,  or  renewing 
the  energy  of  the  rays  which  penetrate 
them,  are  stimulated  by  the  presence  of 
these  rays.  In  one,  the  rays  are  absorbed, 
and  the  whole  sphere  becomes  very  lumi- 
nous, and  radiates  its  own  light,  in  the 
same  manner  as  the  sun  or  the  stars.  In 
another,  the  rays  penetrate  and  impart  new 
and  intense  power  to  the  mass ;  and  the 
luminous  and  radiant  forces  of  these  rays 
are  resuscitated  by  the  molecules  endowed 


VIEWS    OF    THE    UNIVERSE.  79 

with  properties  similar  to  those  in  the  sun 
from  which  the  rays  emanated ;  and  away 
they  dart  with  refreshed  energy,  so  as  to 
brighten  space,  in  some  instances,  forty 
millions  of  leagues  beyond  the  relay  at 
which  their  luminous  power  was  intensified. 
In  another,  some  peculiar  atomic  constitu- 
tion diverts  the  transmitted  solar  ray :  and 
it  is  projected  laterally,  and  in  directions 
at  various  angles  to  the  rectilinear  ray 
proceeding  from  the  sun.  Difference  of 
chemical  composition  might  even  induce 
varieties  in  the  color  of  transmitted  rays ; 
and  no  color  and  no  form  of  appendage 
have  ever  been  observed  or  can  exist  that 
may  not  be  accounted  for  on  my  imperfect 
exposition  of  the  physical  nature  and  forces 
of  these  mysterious  bodies. 

The  orbits  of  comets  varying  in  form,  so 
much  as  they  do,  require  in  this  connection 
some  explanation. 


80  COSMOGRAPHY  : 

In  these  views  of  celestial  dynamics,  the 
theory  of  centrifugal  force  is  not  enter- 
tained in  the  sense  in  which  it  was  origi- 
nated by  Huygens,  and  has  since  been 
used  by  mathematical  astronomers  in  cal- 
culating the  orbits  of  the  heavenly  bodies. 
However  accurate  astronomical  calcula- 
tions, based  on  this  theory,  may  be,  it 
appears  to  me  that  no  dead  or  inactive 
principle  exists  in  the  universe.  The  idea 
of  cosmical  bodies  being  projected  at  ran- 
dom from  the  hand  of  the  Creator  with 
prodigious  and  variable  forces,  and  after- 
wards caught  up  by  the  attractive  power  of 
the  sun,  as  they  were  rolling  by  that  orb  in 
a  straight  line  directed  to  no  particular 
object  in  the  universe,  is  not  consistent  with 
the  order  displayed  so  universally  in  the 
works  of  nature.  There  were  living  organic 
forces  instituted  in  the  morning  of  creation, 
and  they  were  the  most  simple  that  Infi- 
nite Wisdom  could  devise.     The  same  that 


VIEWS    OF    THE    UNIVERSE.  81 

were  exerted  to  form  the  universe  continue 
to  maintain  its  stability  and  harmony. 
The  Infinite  Principle  was  to  create,  not  to 
destroy.  The  tendency  of  matter,  what- 
ever its  condition,  whether  in  isolated 
molecules  or  in  massive  spheres,  has  always 
been  to  form  some  attachment,  to  seek 
some  central  point  or  nucleus,  never  to  fly 
from  it ;  to  be  aggregated,  never  to  be 
segregated.  It  may  be  prevented  from 
reaching  that  centre  by  a  force  inherent  in 
all  molecules  and  spheres,  —  a  force  coin- 
cident with  and  nearly  as  wide  in  its 
operation  as  that  of  attraction ;  and  the 
idea  of  that  force  is  expressed  by  the  word 
repulsion  as  well  as  by  any  word  in  our 
language.  Vast  accumulations  of  matter, 
moulded  into  a  cosmical  sphere,  and  falling 
for  thousands  or  millions  of  miles  towards 
a  central  body,  —  even  though  a  repulsive 
influence  were  exerted  between  them, — 
might  be  impelled  into  such  relations  with 
6 


82  COSMOGRAPHY : 

the  central  body  as  to  be  incompatible 
with  the  equilibrium  of  the  opposite  forces 
with  which  their  constitutions  might  be  en- 
dowed. Under  such  circumstances,  they 
would  recede  from  the  focal  centre ;  and, 
if  carried  beyond  the  equilibrium  of  their 
forces  on  the  other  side,  they  would  return 
toward  the  central  body  again  with  the 
same  velocity  as  at  first,  and  thus  their 
unequal  motion  would  always  be  sustained 
in  consequence  of  the  first  organic  act  of 
the  Almighty. 

Galileo  discovered  the  axial  rotation  of 
the  heavenly  bodies ;  and  the  idea  that 
some  projectile  force  had  imparted  a  rotato- 
ry motion  to  the  planets  led  Huygens,  with 
his  lofty  mathematical  genius,  to  imagine 
the  existence  of  a  principle  of  motion,  to 
which  he  gave  the  name  of  centrifngal 
force.  On  this  basis,  embraced  within 
Huygens's  celebrated  theory  of  central 
forces,  the  immortal  Newton,  having  had 


VIEWS    OF    THE    UNIVERSE.  83 

revealed  to  his  mind  the  beautiful  truth  of 
gravitation,  established  by  the  most  labo- 
rious mathematical  calculations  the  sublime 
principles  of  celestial  mechanics.  To  ac- 
count for  the  elliptical  form  of  planetary- 
orbits,  the  existence  of  which  was  first 
discovered  by  Kepler,  he  combined  the 
motions  growing  out  of  these  two  ideas; 
and,  from  that  day  to  the  present,  the  powers 
which  sustain  revolving  spheres  in  their 
orbits  have  been  called  centrifugal  and 
centripetal  forces.  The  latter  only,  exists 
in  the  minds  of  philosophers  as  a  living 
radial  force,  exerted  actively  by  central 
bodies  to  draw  revolving  orbs  to  their  foci. 
That  is  Newton's  discovery,  and  it  is  the 
active  operation  of  the  law  of  gravitation. 
The  present  state  of  philosophy  admits  no 
vital  principle  to  reign  in  the  action  of  the 
centrifugal  force.  It  exists  in  the  eye  of 
science,  only  as  a  result  of  some  ancient 
and     mysterious    impulse    communicated 


84 


COSMOGRAPHY : 


to    inert    masses     of    matter    moving    in 
space. 

Now,  let  us  examine  more  particularly 
the  nature  of  centrifugal  force.  It  was 
imagined  to  exist  by  Huygens,  has  been 
inculcated  by  Newton,  and  taught  by  philo- 
sophers to  the  present  day  as  a  force  acting 
on  revolving  orbs  independent  of  any  radial 
connection  with  the  central  body.  The 
annular  hypothesis  of  Laplace  would  in- 
deed imply,  that  the  solid  revolving  bodies 
had  been  impressed  by  a  centrifugal  force 
during  their  former  physical  connection 
with  the  central  body :  but,  since  their 
separation  from  that  body,  the  same  force 
continues  to  be  exerted  upon  them  as 
though  they  were  masses  of  inert  matter, 
and  possessed  no  internal  radial  properties 
by  which  their  orbitual  motion  could  be  in 
any  way  affected,  —  either  increased  or 
retarded.  If  the  doctrine  of  universal  re- 
pulsion, which  I  have  ventured  to  propound 


VIEWS    OF    THE    UNIVERSE.  85 

in  this  treatise,  be  sustained  by  the  scientific 
developments  of  the  age  or  of  futurity, 
then  the  "centrifugal  force"  of  modern 
philosophy  immediately  assumes  a  life  and 
energy  which  it  has  never  heretofore  pos- 
sessed ;  and  it  becomes  a  force  acting 
conjointly  with  attraction,  and  is  an  active 
radial  property  of  cosmical  bodies  as  posi- 
tively as  is  attraction  itself. 

The  centrifugal  or  tangential  force  acting 
on  spheres  revolving  in  space  has  hereto- 
fore been  held  in  the  light  of  an  assumed 
quantity,  which,  combined  with  a  force 
clearly  demonstrable,  has  wrought  out  a 
compound  motion  necessary  to  the  exist- 
ence of  curvilinear  orbits.  Unlike  the  idea 
attached  to  centripetal  force,  which  implies 
an  absolute  radial  principle  manifested 
between  the  central  and  revolving  orbs 
binding  them  together,  the  idea  attached 
to  centrifugal  force  embraces  no  innate 
active   principle,   and   refers    only    to    an 


86  COSMOGRAPHY : 

ancient  impulse  not  even  dependent  for  its 
origin  on  attraction,  and  which  was  com- 
municated when  the  sphere  was  at  rest  and 
inert.  The  doctrine  presented  in  this  trea- 
tise assumes  that  the  primordial  molecules 
floating  in  space,  not  being  inert  when  they 
agglomerated,  carried  their  internal  princi- 
ples of  motion  into  the  massive  spheres, 
which,  thus  endowed  with  central  forces 
capable  of  external  and  radial  influences, 
are  not  to  be  viewed  in  the  light  of  inert 
bodies  whose  motions  can  be  compared 
to  those  of  objects  twirled  in  a  sling  or 
projected  from  fire-arms.  On  the  contrary, 
all  their  motions,  from  the  moment  when 
their  molecules  began  to  agglomerate,  arose 
from  internal  principles  augmenting  in 
power  in  proportion  to  their  mass.  Thus 
attraction,  possessing  a  wider  circle  of 
influence  than  the  opposite  principle,  was 
the  first  to  exert  its  force  as  an  organic 
power,  and  to  move  the  mass.     This  uni- 


VIEWS    OF    THE    UNIVERSE.  87 

versal  principle  held  complete  dominion 
over  the  universe  during  the  earliest  stages 
of  its  cosmical  developments.  It  acted 
as  a  radial  power  from  sun  to  sun,  and 
was  the  active  agent  of  that  vast  con- 
densation of  worlds  so  beautifully  ex- 
hibited in  the  northern  and  southern  hemi- 
spheres, and  increasing  progressively  in 
numerical  extent  from  the  poles  to  the 
equator  of  the  galaxy.  As  the  repulsive 
principle  was  less  efficient  in  its  energies 
at  first  than  the  attractive,  and  allowed 
agglomerations  rather  than  maintained  a 
diffuse  condition  of  the  primordial  mole- 
cules ;  so,  after  these  agglomerations  had 
taken  place,  the  attractive  principle  ex- 
tended its  power  from  sphere  to  sphere 
in  such  a  manner  as  to  impart  an  impulse 
to  all ;  and  that  impulse,  at  a  later  period, 
was  met  by  the  repulsive  power  which 
acted  as  an  opposing  force,  and  created  the 
compound   motion  necessary   to  form  the 


88  COSMOGRAPHY  : 

planetary  orbits.  The  repulsive  principle 
so  exerted  its  influence  as  to  compel  the 
falling  bodies  to  maintain  definite  distances 
from  the  central  focus  ;  but,  the  attractive 
principle  having  accumulated  power  in 
proportion  to  the  fall  of  a  cosmical  body 
for  millions  of  miles  before  it  encountered 
the  repulsive  force,  it  still  continues  to  ap- 
proach the  central  focus,  and  to  overcome 
the  antagonistic  principle.  During  this 
period,  it  is  being  impelled  into  relations 
with  the  central  body  wholly  at  variance 
with  the  equilibrium  of  the  forces  emana- 
ting from  the  two  bodies  ;  and,  when  it  has 
attained  the  nearest  possible  point,  a  reac- 
tion must  take  place ;  and,  on  an  inverse 
application  of  the  principle  of  Newton's 
third  law,  that  "  action  and  reaction  are 
always  equal  and  contrary,"  —  a  principle, 
however,  never  applied  by  him  in  this  man- 
ner,—  it  must  necessarily  recede  from  the 
sun.     Here,  repulsion,  manifesting  itself  as 


VIEWS    OF    THE    UNIVERSE.  89 

an  active  and  predominant  principle,  be- 
comes an  absolute,  living,  centrifugal  force ; 
and  the  receding  body  is  carried  to  its 
aphelion  by  active  radial  influences  exerted 
between  the  moving  and  central  spheres, 
aided  by  the  momentum  accumulated  by 
the  former  in  falling  to  its  perihelion.  No 
force  is  exerted  in  space  capable  of  impel- 
ling planets  out  of  their  orbits,  except 
repulsion ;  and  that,  as  a  living,  radial 
principle,  is  limited  in  its  power  to  a  circle, 
whose  radii,  proceeding  from  the  centre  of 
the  sun,  are  equal  throughout.  Relieved 
from  attraction,  revolving  bodies  would 
necessarily  leave  their  orbits,  and  at  first 
move  away  from  the  sun  in  a  curve,  not 
at  a  tangent ;  and,  abandoned  to  the  prin- 
ciple of  repulsion,  they  would  recede,  and 
expand  indefinitely,  by  virtue  of  radial  in- 
fluences exerted  throughout  their  mass  and 
beyond  it,  whose  energies  would  only  die 
away  in    space,  when   they  had   attained 


90  COSMOGRAPHY  : 

that  distance  from  the  sun  where  this  force 
was  first  awakened  in  them. 

The  lofty  powers  of  Huygens,  Newton, 
and    Laplace,  —  in  every  thing  laborious, 
and  in  so  much  truthful  and  exact,  —  have 
controlled   the    direction    of   philosophical 
thought  for  a  long  period.     But,  illumined 
by   light  radiated   from   various   branches 
of  science  during  the  last  forty   years,  it 
may  be  a  question  whether  some  of  their 
doctrines  might  not  with  propriety  be  re- 
examined for  the  purpose  of  confirming  or 
modifying  them,  in  accordance  with   the 
evidence  of  modern  discovery.     Thus  the 
«  nebular  theory  "  of  the  universe,  promul- 
gated by  Laplace,  —  a  subHme  and  beau- 
tiful idea,  —  has  governed  the  opinions  of 
the  learned  to  this   day;    but  it   fails   to 
account    for    the    existence,    and   for   the 
eccentric  and  retrogade  orbits,  of  comets, 
—  a   class    of    revolving   bodies   infinitely 
more    numerous    than    the    solid    planets. 


VIEWS    OF    THE    UNIVERSE. 


91 


When  applied  to  them,  his  hypothesis,  and 
the  direction  of  the  centrifugal  forces  natu- 
rally growing  out  of  it,  are  wholly  incon- 
clusive ;  and  the  retrograde  motions  of  the 
satellites  of  Uranus,  so  long  observed  by 
Sir  John  Herschel,  throw  additional  obsta- 
cles to  the  admission  of  its  correctness. 

The  proposition  herein  presented  has 
grown  out  of  contemplations  of  Newton's 
universal  law  of  gravitation,  and  of  Mos- 
sotti's  equally  beautiful  suggestion,  that  all 
molecules  are  surrounded  by  an  elastic 
ether ;  and  that  they  may  approach  or 
separate  from  each  other  within  definite 
distances,  as  they  may  be  influenced  by 
external  circumstances.  From  this  theory 
of  molecular  repulsion  my  mind  has  been 
led  to  conceive  of  a  principle  of  universal 
repulsion,  less  extensive  in  the  circle  of 
its  power  than  gravitation,  but  associated 
with  it,  as  a  radial  influence,  in  all  worlds, 
and  so  acting  as  to  control  their  motions, 


• 

92  COSMOGRAPHY 


and  to  sustain  them  at  fixed  distances 
from  the  sun  and  from  each  other.  If  a 
principle  of  attraction,  presiding  over  mole- 
cules, assume  a  ponderous  and  multiplied 
power  when  these  molecules  are  congre- 
gated into  vast  globes,  so  as  to  create  the 
principle  of  cosmical  attraction,  then  the 
opposite  principle  of  molecular  repulsion 
must  assume  an  equally  multiplied  force, 
and  thereby  create  the  mighty  powers  of 
cosmical  repulsion,  so  as  to  hold  all  globes 
at  definite  distances  from  each  other;  and 
these  distances  will  depend  on  the  quan- 
tity, density,  and  peculiar  properties  of  the 
matter  constituting  the  various  bodies. 

Thus  in  the  beginning,  foci  of  attrac- 
tion being  established  by  the  Creator,  the 
primordial  molecules  fell  to  them  without 
obstruction.  Chemical  and  cohesive  forces 
acted  simultaneously,  and  different  combi- 
nations of  molecules  ensued,  the  action  of 
which  upon  each  other  would  be  to  gene- 


VIEWS    OF    THE    UNIVERSE.  93 

rate  successively  the  various  voltaic  and 
felectrical  forces  which  are  now  performing 
such  important  agencies  throughout  the 
material  universe.  By  this  process,  the 
great  central  body  was  created,  whose 
powers  exert  such  wonderful  effects  upon 
all  the  bodies  which  revolve  around  it. 
Thus  the  suns  were  formed.  But  the 
creative  energies  once  exerted,  and  subor- 
dinate foci  established,  the  thought  of  God 
to  form  the  universe  was  perfected. 

Having  premised  thus  much  to  elucidate 
more  clearly  the  existence  of  a  power, 
which,  combined  with  that  of  gravitation, 
will  explain  the  peculiar  forms  of  the  orbits 
of  planets  and  comets,  I  will  proceed  to 
account  for  the  varying  and  eccentric  forms 
of  those  of  comets. 

The  gaseous  matter  of  comets,  as  soon 
as  collected  around  their  foci  (in  most  in- 
stances   on   the   extreme   confines   of  the 


94  cosmography: 

empire  allotted  by  creative  Wisdom  to 
solar  influence),  would  begin  to  fall  toward 
the  sun.  The  sun's  attraction  being  the 
accelerating  force,  the  velocity  of  these 
bodies  would  constantly  accumulate ;  and, 
unless  diverted,  they  would  fall  in  a 
straight  line  directly  on  the  sun.  Go- 
verned by  the  laws  of  accelerated  motion, 
their  velocity  would  become  prodigious, 
and  they  would  rush  on,  regardless  of  the 
first  impressions  of  solar  repulsion.  At 
last,  feeling  this  too  sensibly  to  be  longer 
disregarded,  they  would  deviate  from  a 
rectilinear  course ;  and,  partaking  of  the 
mysterious  influence  of  the  universal  side- 
real motion,  they  would  fall  into  a  curvi- 
linear direction,  and  advance  from  west  to 
east  with  accumulating  velocity.  Though 
deflected,  their  object  is  still  to  reach  the 
sun,  —  the  attracting  focus;  and  to  that 
their  accelerated  velocity  impels  them. 
Their  momentum  overcomes,  to  a  certain 


VIEWS    OF    THE    UNIVERSE.  95 

extent,  the  antagonistic  repulsion ;  and 
they  continue  to  apjDroach  the  sun,  until 
they  attain  that  point  in  their  course  where 
the  power  of  repulsion  renders  it  impossi- 
ble for  them  to  approach  nearer.  This  is 
their  perihelion.  Here  they  move  with  a 
momentum,  which,  together  with  mutual 
repulsion,  carries  them  onward,  and  the 
sun's  attraction  still  restraining  them,  their 
motion  is  a  curved  one;  and  the  elliptical 
form  of  the  orbit,  and  the  sun's  position  in 
relation  to  the  circumference  of  that  orbit, 
are  necessary  consequences  of  the  com- 
pound action  and  alternating  intensity  of 
these  two  forces  of  attraction  and  repul- 
sion. Once  established,  the  orbit  must 
remain  the  same  for  ever  (except  influ- 
enced by  external  agencies),  inasmuch  as 
it  was  first  instituted  by  fixed  laws,  and 
was  dependent  for  its  elements  on  the 
amount  and  specific  forces  of  the  matter 
subjected  to  solar  action. 


96  cosmography: 

It  is  quite  clear,  when  the  revolving 
body  had  attained  the  extreme  point  in  its 
course,  diminishing  in  velocity  according 
to  the  law  regulating  uniformly  retarded 
motion,  it  must  commence  its  course  anew 
toward  the  sun,  with  that  momentum 
which  it  acquired  in  falling  in  a  straight 
line,  to  the  point  where  it  first  felt  the 
influence  of  repulsive  forces.  This  point  is 
the  aphelion. 

This  explanation,  applied  to  the  revolu- 
tions of  the  solid  spheres,  whose  orbits  are 
more  regular  and  circular,  will  be  readily 
appreciated ;  and,  on  reflection,  it  will  be 
found  equally  applicable  to  the  orbits  of 
gaseous  bodies.  These  bodies  being  so 
sensible  to  perturbating  forces,  the  form  of 
their  orbits  would  greatly  depend  on  the 
influence  which  they  received  from  disturb- 
ing causes,  immediately  or  soon  after  their 
creation.  Composed,  in  most  instances, 
of  material   differing   but   little   from   the 


VIEWS    OF    THE    UNIVERSE.  97 

gaseous  and  light-giving  molecules  of  the 
sun,  condensing  in  very  remote  regions 
of  space,  and  converging  in  all  directions 
toward  the  solar  centre,  —  the  original 
direction  given  to  their  motions  would 
perhaps  be  independent  of  the  proper  side- 
real motion  communicated  so  generally  to 
the  planets  and  their  secondaries.  If  not 
entirely  independent  of  it,  they  would  be 
more  sensible  to  perturbating  influences 
than  the  solid  spheres,  and  might  as  rea- 
dily be  drawn  to  the  right  as  to  the  left, 
after  having  commenced  their  rectilinear 
course  toward  the  sun.  The  planets,  in 
an  unformed  state,  even  before  they  had 
approached  the  sun  so  far  as  to  have  been 
deflected  from  their  rectilinear  course, — 
in  fact,  even  before  their  heterogeneous 
elements  had  accumulated  around  their 
attractive  foci,  —  might  have  presented  a 
sufficient  disturbing  force  to  have  drawn 
a  comet  from  its  rectilinear  course.  If  de- 
7 


98  COSMOGRAPHY : 

fleeted,  the  slightest  sensibility  to  solar 
repulsion  would  give  them  a  curvilinear 
direction,  and  the  resulting  orbital  motion 
would  as  probably  be  retrograde  as  direct. 
The  position  and  direction  of  the  pertur- 
bating  force,  at  the  moment  of  deflection, 
would  decide  the  character  of  the  comet's 
motion,  and  the  elongation  of  its  orbit; 
for,  when  the  comet  was  so  remote  as  to 
feel  but  slightly  the  force  of  solar  repulsion, 
its  inclination  to  the  curve  would  be  only 
slight,  and  it  would  hasten  on  to  the 
central  focus  with  accumulating  velocity. 
This  point  of  deviation  from  its  primitive 
rectilinear  course  would  be  not  far  from 
the  point  of  its  future  aphelion,  when  its 
revolution  had  been  accomplished,  and  its 
orbit  established.  A  line,  projected  from 
the  longer  axis  of  the  orbit,  would  meet 
the  point  where  the  comet  first  received  its 
disturbing  influence  ;  and  such  a  line,  pro- 
jected still  further,  would  ultimately  reach 


VIEWS    OF    THE    UNIVERSE.  99 

the  point  in  space  where  the  attractive 
focus  of  that  body  was  located  by  the 
Creator.  Did  the  comet  encounter  no 
lateral  disturbing  force,  it  would  move  in  a 
straight  line  to  the  sun,  as  before  stated, 
until  the  repulsive  principle  was  awakened, 
so  far  as  to  allow  it  to  advance  no  further 
in  this  manner.  Then  it  would  assume  a 
curved  motion  more  suddenly,  in  conse- 
quence of  the  combined  action  of  the  two 
forces;  and  the  aphelion  of  such  an  orbit 
would  probably  be  the  point  where  the  de- 
viation tirst  took  place,  and  the  form  of  that 
orbit  be  more  or  less  elliptical.  But,  where 
the  comet  was  diverted  from  its  rectilinear 
course,  at  a  very  early  period  after  it  began 
to  fall  toward  the  sun,  its  orbit  would  be 
proportionally  elongated,  and  might  be  a 
parabola  or  an  hyperbola,  according  to  the 
degree  of  repulsive  influence  exerted  upon 
it,  or  by  it,  at  the  time  of  its  deflection 
from  a  rectilinear  course. 


100  COSMOGRAPHY  : 

In  this  connection,  and  before  I  complete 
my  remarks  on  these  singular  bodies,  it 
will  not  be  inappropriate  to  make  a  sug- 
gestion upon  the  question  which  so  deeply 
agitated  mankind  in  unenlightened  ages, 
and  which  is  still  unsettled  among  scien- 
tific men,  —  Can  comets  come  into  col- 
lision with  the  earth?  The  reply  to  this 
question,  based  on  the  foregoing  principles, 
is  that  they  cannot  come  in  direct  contact 
with  any  other  body  possessing  active 
radial  forces  in  the  universe.  All  cosmical 
bodies,  once  created,  are  endowed  with 
central  forces  as  peculiarly  and  unalterably 
their  own,  as  the  forces  which  attach  to 
molecules  are  peculiarly  theirs.  One  cos- 
mical sphere  attracts  another,  and  they  are 
bound  to  each  other  by  certain  relations ; 
but  these  relations  are  such,  that  when,  in 
the  course  of  cycles,  the  orbit  of  one  will 
so  incline  to  and  cut  the  orbit  of  another 
that  the  two  bodies,  if  pursuing  their  regu- 


VIEWS    OF    THE    UNIVERSE.  101 

lar  courses,  would  come  in  collision,  they 
would  both  exert  their  repulsive  forces ;  and 
one  would  be  retarded,  and  the  other  ac- 
celerated, in  their  respective  courses,  and 
all  possibility  of  contact  avoided.  Thus, 
should  it  so  happen  that  the  course  of  a 
comet  was  such  as  to  advance  directly  to 
the  earth,  the  comet,  when  within  a  cer- 
tain distance  determined  by  their  respective 
central  forces,  would  feel  the  power  of  ter- 
restrial repulsion,  and  be  at  first  retarded ; 
then  such  a  degree  of  perturbation  would 
ensue  as  to  modify  the  curvilinear  form  of 
its  orbit,  until  it  had  passed  beyond  the 
earth's  influence,  when  it  would  resume  its 
original  motion.  The  exertion  of  its  own 
radial  principle  of  repulsion  would  probably 
be  attended  by  a  condeuisation  of  its  mole- 
cules, in  the  same  manner  as  they  condense 
when  these  bodies  are  near  the  sun ;  for 
it  would  seem  necessary  to  the  exertion 
of  strong  repulsive  force,  for  the  molecules  of 


102  COSMOGRAPHY  '. 

which  even  cosmical  bodies  are  composed, 
to  be  drawn  nearer  to  each  other  in  propor- 
tion to  the  exertion  of  that  innate  force. 
By  telescopic  observation  of  comets,  as 
they  approach  and  recede  from  the  sun,  this 
appears  to  be  a  law  of  their  spherical  ex- 
istence ;  and  I  venture  the  prediction  that 
future  observation  and  research  will  deter- 
mine the  same  law  to  attach  to  all  the  solid 
globes,  in  definite  proportions  to  the  quan- 
tity and  density,  or  peculiar  physical 
characters,  of  the  molecules  which  compose 
them. 

The  phenomenon  observed  to  take  place 
in  Biela's  comet  of  1845,  whereby  it  dis- 
united its  physical  elements,  and  assumed 
the  condition  of  two  distinct  spheres,  is 
certainly  very  rernarkable,  and  not  easily 
explained ;  but,  as  this  change  occurred 
during  its  recess  and  course  of  molecular 
expansion,  it  is  possible  that  some  violent 
internal  action,  subordinate  to  solar  influ- 


VIEWS    OF    THE    UNIVERSE.  103 

ence,  might  have  rent  asunder  elements  of 
opposite  polarity. 

It  has  not  been  my  intention,  in  this 
treatise,  to  attempt  to  explain  all  the  phe- 
nomena and  appearances  connected  with 
comets.  My  object  is  to  unfold  only  what 
I  have  believed  to  be  important  and  im- 
mutable truth,  to  open  fresh  and  fertile 
fields  of  observation  and  inquiry  to  minds 
more  highly  endowed  than  my  own,  and  to 
invite  the  attention  of  physical  astrono- 
mers to  what  may  possibly  be  a  valuable 
basis  for  mathematical  calculations.  I 
may  be  considered  presumptuous  in  thus 
rudely  invading  provinces  of  learning, 
which  have  been  so  profoundly  cultivated 
by  the  highest  human  genius ;  but  when 
what  we  have  long  felt  to  be  great  truths 
demand  utterance,  and  our  object  is  to 
enlarge  the  boundaries  of  human  know- 
ledge, and  to  give  impulse  to  research  in 
new  and  unexplored  directions,  we  feel  sure 


104  COSMOGRAPHY : 

that  our  views  will  receive  the  indulgence 
of  a  candid  consideration  from  the  learned, 
rather  than  their  too  hasty  condemnation. 
Science  is  still  imperfect.  No  department 
of  human  inquiry  has  been  so  thoroughly 
examined,  that  every  thing  is  revealed  to 
our  understanding.  Much  less  so  with  as- 
tronomy. Encke  has  felt  convinced,  while 
calculating  the  path  of  the  comet  which 
has  received  his  name,  that  it  was  encoun- 
tering some  resisting  force,  and  has,  in 
consequence  of  this  conviction,  imagined 
space  to  be  filled  with  a  resisting  medium. 
Signs  of  resistance  to  the  progress  of  the 
heavenly  bodies  have  been  perceived  by 
various  astronomers,  both  observers  and 
calculators ;  but  all  have  been  fettered  by 
the  sublime  idea  that  gravitation  was  the 
only  active  universal  principle,  and  that  a 
centrifugal  influence  was  only  a  negative 
energy,  having  been  exerted  at  that  remote 
epoch  in  the  history  of  the  universe,  when 


VIEWS    OF    THE    UNIVERSE.  105 

the  various  revolving  spheres  were  projected 
into  space,  or  thrown  off  from  the  sun,  and 
is  now,  so  to  speak,  a  dormant  projectile 
force.  Astronomers  have  been  so  en- 
chained by  this  lofty  mathematical  tradi- 
tion, that  the  grand  and  immortal  truth  of 
cosmical  repulsion  has  never  been  awa- 
kened in  their  minds,  or  entered  as  an 
element  into  their  calculations.  I  say  this 
with  all  humility  ;  and  though  centrifugal 
force,  as  a  dead  element,  has  been  substi- 
tuted for  it,  and  with  great  mental  labor 
might  be  made  in  a  manner  equivalent,  still, 
in  the  nicest  calculations,  it  will  be  greatly 
deficient,  and,  as  a  basis  of  calculus,  must 
fall  far  short  of  the  positive  and  natural 
power. 

I  have  already  stated,  with  sufficient 
clearness,  my  theory  of  the  original  state 
of  matter,  and  of  the  establishment  of  local 
attractive  foci,  to  make  it  unnecessary  to 


106  COSMOGRAPHY  *. 

enlarge  further  upon  that  subject.  I  wish 
now  to  invite  attention  to  the  more  solid 
*  spheres  which  revolve  around  the  central 
body. 

The  solar  focus  being  established,  and 
endowed  with  the  peculiar  principles  which 
Infinite  Wisdom  devised  to  draw  around 
it  those  molecules  destined  for  the  sun's 
special  creation,  and  which  were  to  hold 
all  other  elementary  forms  of  matter  at 
fixed  distances,  and  in  complete  obedience 
to  it,  the  foci  of  subordinate  though  similar 
principles  would  necessarily  form  the  basis 
or  skeleton  of  the  present  solar  system. 

To  impart  a  more  clear  understanding 
of  views  herein  presented  on  the  forma- 
tions of  planets  and  their  secondaries,  it 
will  be  necessary  to  consider  the  creation 
of  the  earth  as  concisely  as  possible,  and 
apply  knowledge  derived  from  facts  to  the 
elucidation  of  the  mysteries  which  are,  in 
a  great  measure,  beyond  our  reach. 


VIEWS    OF    THE    UNIVERSE.  107 

Here  every  thing  is  subject  to  our  touch 
and   examination.     We  can  solidify  aeri- 
form   substances,   and    dissolve    into    gas 
rocks  and  metals.     The  most  delicate  in- 
vestigations of  the  great  forces  of  nature 
can  be  devised  by  the  enlightened  intellect; 
and  the  separation  of  forces  and  elements 
into  their  simple  and  ultimate  conditions 
can  be  carried  to  an  extent  which  unveils 
the  mysteries  of  creation,  and  transfers  us 
to  that  epoch  in  the  history  of  the  universe 
when  matter  had   received  no  form,  and 
when  the  germ  of  its  consolidation  was 
only  a  thought  in  the  bosom  of  the  Su- 
preme Being.     How  vast,  how  marvellous, 
the  amplitude  of  the  human  understand- 
ing!—  a  principle  so  nearly  allied  to  the 
divine,  that,  like  images  of  the  resplendent 
worlds  above  impressed  on  a  tranquil  sea, 
the   thoughts   of    God    glance    upon    the 
peaceful,  meditative  soul,  and  the  Infinite 
is  reflected  through  the  finite  for  the  im- 


108  COSMOGRAPHY : 

provement  and  elevation  of  the  whole  race 
of  man. 

The  system  of  analysis,  by  which  ter- 
restrial matter  has  been  resolved  into  its 
primordial  conditions,  is  strictly  inductive ; 
and  it  affords  a  basis  for  reasoning  suffi- 
ciently strong  to  make  the  views  of  terres- 
trial creation  herein  expressed  more  than 
bare  hypothesis.  Having  unbound  mole- 
cules from  the  forces  which  held  them  in 
such  relations  as  constituted  the  various 
forms  of  matter  composing  this  planet,  we 
left  them  free  and  chaotic  in  infinite  space. 
Let  us  now  invoke  known  physical  forces 
to  exert  their  energies,  and  reconstruct  the 
earth. 

That  region  of  space  having  been  al- 
lotted as  the  theatre  of  these  energies, 
they  all  act  simultaneously  and  unitedly. 
Molecular  attraction  draws  atoms  together, 
which,  being  polarized  in  various  degrees, 
constitute   forms  of  diversified  character ; 


VIEWS    OF    THE    UNIVERSE.  109 

cohesion  accumulates  masses,  and  terres- 
trial gravity  attracts  the  simple  and  com- 
pound elements  of  nature  around  its  central 
focus.  Thus  all  this  planetary  matter  is  en- 
dowed with  physical  life  and  motion.  The 
act  is  as  instantaneous  as  the  thought  of 
God,  and  the  result  as  positive  and  irresisti- 
ble as  his  will.  The  various  forms  of  matter 
falling  together  equally  in  all  directions, 
would  necessarily  fashion  out  a  sphere. 
To  the  terrible  galvanic  phenomena  which 
would  attend  such  a  rapid  condensation 
and  accumulation  of  heterogeneous  masses, 
I  will  only  refer  as  absolute  results  of  such 
world-forming  energies.  The  molten  con- 
dition of  the  inner  portions  of  the  globe 
still  attest  to  the  violent  conflict  of  forces 
exerted  at  its  creation.  Collecting  around 
the  solid  sphere,  at  last  condensed  the 
flowing  ocean  and  the  ambient  air.  Thus 
probably  all  the  solid  planets  were  created ; 
for,  so  far  as  we  can  observe  their  physical 


110  COSMOGRAPHY ! 

appearance,  and  judge  of  them  by  their 
obedience  to  laws  which  govern  known 
forms  of  matter,  they  are  probably  not 
exceedingly  dissimilar,  and  were  formed 
on  the  same  general  principles. 

So  far  as  one  class  of  cosmical  creations 
took  precedence  of  another,  the  inference  is, 
from  close  examination  of  physical  laws 
applied  to  facts  and  to  probabilities,  that 
the  central  and  commanding  forces  of  the 
suns  were  first  ordained.  Previous  to  this, 
that  polarization  of  all  molecules  through- 
out immensity  took  place,  which  produced 
lateral  accumulations  toward  a  vast  plane 
extending  through  the  universe.  This 
plane  will  be  recognized  as  no  other  than 
the  galactic  zone  ;  and  the  guaging  of  the 
northern  heavens  by  Struve,  and  the 
southern  by  Sir  John  Herschel,  show  such 
a  similarity  and  numerical  uniformity  to 
exist  in  the  density  of  stars  in  the  two 
hemispheres,  that  there  can  be  no  doubt  of 


VIEWS    OP    THE    UNIVERSE.  Ill 

the  vast  polarizing  force  exerted  in  the 
dawn  of  creation.  Telescopic  observations 
prove  beyond  a  question  the  universal  con- 
densation of  primordial  matter,  from  the 
direction  of  the  two  galactic  poles  to  the 
plane  of  the  milky  way.  This  was  a  stu- 
pendous action  of  Divine  Thought,  which 
we  behold  carried  out  very  beautifully  in 
detail,  in  the  construction  of  our  own 
solar  system.  Ours  is  suspended  in  the 
midst  of  the  milky  way,  and  we  see  all 
forms  of  matter  condensed  from  the  direc- 
tion of  the  poles  to  the  plane  of  the  ecliptic. 
It  is  spread  out  in  one  broad  sheet,  extend- 
ing from  bound  to  bound  of  the  solar 
domain ;  and  the  polarizing  force  which 
effected  these  lateral  accumulations  still 
retains  its  power  over  the  terrestrial  mole- 
cules, and  is  displayed  in  the  wonderful 
phenomena  of  the  magnetic  poles.  No- 
thing appears  to  have  been  left  behind 
during  the  manifestation  of  this  local  or 


112  cosmography: 

solar  polarizing  force,  except  the  wandering 
comet ;  and  these  mysterious  bodies,  by 
their  escape,  point  significantly  to  a  pre- 
vious formation,  or  to  a  play  of  physical 
forces  wholly  different  from,  and  antecedent 
to,  those  exerted  for  the  consolidation  of 
the  planetary  spheres. 

Thus,  by  our  knowledge  of  terrestrial 
magnetic  forces,  we  can  ascend,  by  analogy 
and  inductive  contemplation,  to  the  display 
of  these  forces  when  the  planetary  molecules 
were  in  their  primordial  state.  The  effect 
would  be  to  draw  them  together  from  north 
to  south,  and  to  form  a  zone  extending  in 
all  directions  from  the  solar  equator. 

Previous  to  this,  all  stellar  boundaries 
had  been  marked  out;  and  our  sun,  among 
the  countless  multitude  in  the  heavens,  had 
received  the  domain  allotted  for  the  display 
of  its  mighty  external  forces.  Its  own 
powers  and  form  were  given  to  it,  and  it  be- 
came the  controlling  orb,  around  which  this 


VIEWS    OF    THE    UNIVERSE.  113 

earth  and  all  kindred  spheres  were  to  re- 
volve throughout  time. 

As  the  planets  were  made  subsequently, 
and  subordinate  to  the  sun,  and  endowed 
with  attraction  and  repulsion  similar  to  the 
solar  forces  ;  so  were  the  secondaries  crea- 
ted subsequently,  and  subordinate  to  them, 
and  endowed  with  corresponding  principles. 
The  stability  of  the  system  would  not 
necessarily  demand  a  simultaneous  organic 
perfection  of  all  its  members ;  for,  the  focal 
forces  being  established  in  relation  to  each 
other,  matter  would  probably  operate  in 
the  same  equilibrious  manner,  though  not 
with  equal  intensity,  whether  in  a  dilated 
or  condensed  state.  The  rotation  of  Saturn 
under  these  circumstances,  exerting  its  re- 
pulsive as  well  as  attractive  forces,  would 
more  naturally  explain  the  formation  of  its 
rings,  and  their  permanent  but  librating 
relation  to  each  other  and  to  the  planet, 
than  the  hypothesis  of  Laplace,  applied  to 


114  cosmography: 

their  phenomena,  with  the  highest  human 
ingenuity. 

It  is  not  my  design  to  enter  into  a  mi- 
nute detail  of  what  many  might  consider 
bold  speculations,  or  that  persons,  whose 
knowledge  is  more  exact  and  enlarged  than 
my  own,  might  call  baseless  theory.  But 
I  venture  to  utter  opinions  only  so  far  as 
facts  and  observation  will  sustain  legiti- 
mate inquiry ;  and  my  main  object  is  to 
invite  scientific  minds  to  resurvey  the  past 
state  of  knowledge,  and  to  press  forward 
in  the  development  of  the  sublimest  phy- 
sical truths. 

Subordinate  still  to  terrestrial  attraction, 
is  a  class  of  bodies  called  aerolUes.  As 
comets  point  our  conjectures  to  their  exist- 
ence as  vestiges  of  solar  matter  flying 
towards  the  sun  from  all  regions  of  space, 
so  aerolites  point  our  conjectures  to  their 
existence  as  vestiges  of  planetary  matter, 


VIEWS    OF    THE    UNIVERSE.  115 

which  for  ages  have  wandered  around  the 
earth  or  moon.  As  it  is  a  physical  impossi- 
bility for  them  to  have  been  projected  by 
any  volcanic  agency  beyond  the  gravita- 
tive  attraction  of  this  globe,  I  have  been  led 
to  imagine  that  they  are  creations  subor- 
dinate to  the  moon,  and  that  their  orbits 
have  been  so  eccentric  to  that  secondary, 
that  at  last  they  have  lost  their  equilibrium, 
and  been  drawn  within  the  earth's  power. 
If  this  be  so,  it  would  countenance  the  opi- 
nion, advanced  by  some  astronomers,  that 
certain  comets  whose  return  has  been  pre- 
dicted, and  which  have  never  again  ap- 
peared, may  have  wandered  to  the  outskirts 
of  the  solar  empire,  and  fallen  within  the 
attraction  of  remote  stars. 

The  fact  on  which  I  base  the  conjec- 
ture that  aerolites  —  or  rather  the  original 
masses,  of  which  they  are  only  fragments 
—  were  lunar  satellites,  is  significant  in  so 
far,  that  some  ferruginous    aerolites    have 


116  cosmography: 

decomposed  very  rapidly  after  reaching  the 
earth.  This  is  strong  presumptive  evidence 
that  they  had  previously  occupied  regions 
where  no  oxygen  or  atmosphere  like  our 
own  existed.  The  absence  of  a  lunar  at- 
mosphere increases  the  probability  of  the 
conjecture,  that  their  origin  is  more  nearly 
connected  with  the  constitution  of  the 
moon  than  with  that  of  the  earth.  At  any 
rate,  the  fact  is  so  remarkable  that  I  would 
invite  inquiry  and  critical  telescopic  obser- 
vation to  this  point ;  though  it  is  presum- 
able, that,  from  the  small  size  of  these 
erratic  bodies,  they  may  not  be  discovered 
by  the  most  scrutinizing  and  patient  re- 
search. 

These  opinions  on  aerolites,  however, 
are  speculative ;  and  I  advance  them  be- 
cause it  appears  to  me  a  physical  impossi- 
bility for  meteoric  bodies  to  have  been 
projected,  either  by  the  moon  or  earth,  be- 
yond the  limits  of  their  respective  gravita- 


VIEWS    OF    THE    UNIVERSE. 


117 


tive  forces.  If  that  cannot  be,  the  inference 
is  that  they  must  be  moving  in  space  free 
as  other  cosmical  bodies.  Besides,  their 
physical  characters,  though  denoting  a 
chemical  origin  similar  to  that  of  our  earth, 
show  a  composition  so  foreign  to  it,  as  to 
direct  our  research  for  their  origin  beyond 
the  bounds  of  this  sphere.  Thus  I  have 
been  led  to  believe,  that  they  have  sustained 
a  nearer  relation  to  the  moon  than  to  the 
earth,  and  that  they  are  fragments  of  ano- 
malous cosmical  masses,  mere  vestiges  of  a 
world-forming  epoch,  revolving  in  eccentric 
orbits  around  the  moon  under  circumstan- 
ces of  feeble  relation  to  it,  and  which  at 
last  have  reached  the  great  central  focus 
within  whose  circle  of  forces  the  condensa- 
tion and  crystallization  of  their  molecules 
were  first  effected. 


PART    III. 

INEaUALITIES  OP  SURFACE  IN  THE  SOLID  SPHERES 
AND  THE  SUCCESSIVE  REVOLUTIONS  OBSERVED 
THROUGHOUT  THE  CRUST  OP  OUR  OWN  GLOBE, 
AS  RESULTS  OP  THE  ALTERNATING  INTENSITY 
OF  COSMICAL  FORCES. 


P  A  H  T     III. 


Having  completed  a  cursory  survey  of  the 
cosmical  bodies  composing  our  system, 
and  the  forces  which  govern  their  mutual 
relations,  the  changes  that  take  place  on 
the  surface  of  the  globe,  growing  out  of 
the  local  and  radial  action  of  these  forces, 
will  next  claim  our  attention.  This  is  a 
subject  which  has  not  hitherto  attracted 
the  consideration  of  scientific  men.  But 
the  sequel  will  demonstrate  its  importance ; 
and  I  trust  the  suggestion  will  receive  that 
candid  and  profound  investigation  which 
exact  scientific  knowledge  demands.  The 
means  of  inquiry  will  be  wholly  within  our 


122  COSMOGRAPHY : 

reach  ;  and  a  few  years  of  careful  observa- 
tion will  determine  whether  I  have  promul- 
gated a  sublime  physical  truth,  or  indulged 
my  imagination  with  dreams  and  mere 
conjectures. 

Changes  produced  in  this  globe,  from 
universal  causes,  must  be  only  a  counter- 
part of  similar  changes  in  all  globes  where 
like  causes  operate.  This  is  irrefutable; 
and  I  shall  therefore  announce,  without 
further  preliminary  remark,  the  following, 
as  a  physical  fact  or  law: —  That  planets 
contract  in  volume  as  they  approach  the  sun, 
in  direct  proportion  to  their  mass  and  dis- 
tance,  until  they  reach  their  perihelia,  when 
they  are  smallest;  and  that  they  increase  in 
volume,  in  like  proportion,  as  they  recede 
from  the  sun,  until  they  reach  their  aphclia, 
where  their  dimensions  are  the  greatest. 

The  evidences  of  alternate  contraction 
and  expansion  of  planets  are  of  two  sorts, 
analogical   and   internal.      The   former   is 


VIEWS    OF    THE    UNIVERSE.  123 

derived  from  observation  of  other  cosmical 
bodies ;  the  latter,  from  a  study  of  the  earth 
itself.  At  present  they  appear  limited. 
Hereafter  they  will  be  numerous,  both  as- 
tronomical and  mathematical,  and  com- 
pletely demonstrative. 

The  analogical  evidence  is  derived  from 
comets.  Their  varying  dimensions,  as 
they  approach  and  recede  from  their  peri- 
helia, demonstrate  a  remarkable  solar  in- 
fluence over  the  mobility  of  the  molecules 
composing  this  class  of  bodies.  When 
freed  from  the  grasping  power  of  the  sun, 
which  is  exerted  with  so  much  energy  that 
we  fear  they  must  be  swallowed  up  in  its 
atmosphere,  they  dart  away  as  if  rejoicing 
in  their  freedom,  and  expand  as  they  re- 
cede ;  the  nuclei  yielding  up  their  centrali- 
zing forces,  and  the  condensed  matter  of 
the  whole  mass  returning  to  what  appears 
to  be  an  original  equilibrious  state  of  ex- 
pansibility.    This  element  in  the  physical 


124  COSMOGRAPHY  : 

constitution  of  some  comets,  being  well 
observed  and  substantiated,  makes  it  cer- 
tain that  a  similar  law  presides  over  the 
structure  of  all ;  though  difference  in 
distance,  external  relations,  or  internal 
composition,  might  not  render  telescopic 
observation  uniformly  positive. 

Now,  if  one  class  of  revolving  spheres, 
whose  physical  structure  is  known  to  pos- 
sess great  molecular  mobility,  be  subject  to 
such  remarkable  expansions  and  contrac- 
tions of  their  molecular  relations,  by  the 
mutual  play  of  their  own  and  the  solar 
forces,  why  are  not  other  revolving  spheres, 
of  greater  density  and  possessing  equally 
potent  central  forces,  subject  to  similar 
alternations  of  size?  alternations,  however, 
which,  in  consequence  of  their  solidity  and 
peculiar  atomic  forces,  may  not  be  so  sen- 
sible to  optical  observation  ?  There  is  no 
reason  why  this  should  not  be  so. 

To  say  noihing  of  the  fluid  condition  of 


VIEWS    OF    THE    UNIVERSE.  125 

the  interior,  all  observation  shows  an  extra- 
ordinary degree  of  mobility  in  the  particles 
composing  even  the  solid  rocks  of  this 
globe.  Mountain  masses  of  stratified 
granular  limestone  are  changed  into  the 
most  beautiful  crystalline  marbles,  simply 
by  the  injection  of  molten  lava  through 
their  strata.  This  change  is  effected  solely 
by  calorific  radiation.  Here  is  an  altera- 
tion in  the  absolute  juxtaposition  of  mole- 
cules, so  great  that  the  whole  mass  has 
changed  its  character  and  its  physical  ap- 
pearance. But  we  have  another  sort  of 
evidence,  too  sensible  to  be  mistaken,  of 
the  mobility  and  expansibility  of  the  mat- 
ter of  the  solid  crust  of  the  globe.  The 
trundling  of  wagons  over  pavements  or 
frozen  ground  communicates  oscillations 
of  the  surface  for  some  distance.  Explo- 
sions of  gunpowder  are  still  more  remark- 
able for  their  oscillating  action  on  large 
extents  of  ground.      But  the  evidence  of 


126  cosmography: 

greatest  value  in  this  connection  is  derived 
from  earthquakes.  The  force  in  these  phe- 
nomena acts,  indeed,  from  within  the  earth 
impulsively  and  spasmodically ;  but  the 
result,  if  sudden  and  violent,  is  still  the 
same  on  the  mobility  of  terrestrial  mole- 
cules. Vast  extents  of  the  globe  some- 
times feel  the  oscillation  communicated  by 
these  subterranean  forces.  That  of  1755, 
which  concentrated  its  violence  under  Por- 
tugal, produced  a  radiating  oscillation 
of  molecules  over  the  whole  Atlantic  mass 
of  the  earth  and  ocean,  the  whole  of  conti- 
nental Europe,  and  the  northern  part  of 
Africa.  All  these  prodigious  results  are 
produced  by  the  impulsive  action  of  one 
molecule  against  another,  until  the  whole 
hemisphere  has  felt  the  impulse  given  to 
the  first  molecule  by  the  subterranean 
force. 

If,  then,  physical  causes,  under  common 
observation,    produce    such    sensible    and 


VIEWS    OF    THE    UNIVERSE.  127 

extraordinary  effects  on  the  earth,  why 
may  not  the  powerful  radial  forces  of  the 
sun,  so  universal  in  their  action  as  to  be 
felt  in  every  molecule  of  a  revolving  globe 
(and  those  antagonistic  energies  exerted 
by  that  globe  through  every  molecule  of  its 
mass),  —  why  may  not  the  insensible,  but 
active  and  positive,  exercise  of  these  cen- 
tral forces  exert  an  effect  equally  insensible, 
active,  and  positive,  in  producing  alternate 
expansions  and  contractions  of  the  whole 
globe,  as  it  recedes  from,  and  draws  within, 
solar  influence  ?  These  forces  radiate  from 
centre  to  circumference,  and  are  exerted 
from  molecule  to  molecule.  These  oscil- 
late as  the  forces  play  upon  them,  and 
recede  or  press  toward  each  other  from 
centre  to  periphery,  according  to  the  direc- 
tion of  the  earth's  motion,  and  its  distance 
from  the  solar  orb.  The  great  repulsive 
power  of  the  sun  is  exhibited  when  the 
earth   is   in   perihelion,  by   preventing  its 


128  ^cosmography: 

closer  proximity  to  that  body.  The  great 
repulsive  power  of  the  earth  is  exhibited 
to  us  sensibly  by  the  enlargement  of  the 
moon's  orbit.  This  increases  as  the  earth 
approaches  the  sun,  and  is  largest  when 
the  earth  is  nearest  to  the  central  body. 
Astronomers  have  attributed  the  enlarge- 
ment of  the  lunar  orbit,  as  the  earth 
approaches  the  sun,  entirely  to  the  sun's 
attraction  of  the  moon  away  from  the 
earth.  May  not  this  be  an  error,  growing 
out  of  imperfect  knowledge  of  universal 
laws  ?  May  not  the  varying  dimensions 
of  the  lunar  orbit  depend  in  a  great  mea- 
sure upon  the  degree  of  terrestrial  repul- 
sion ?  That  repulsion  is  greatest  when  the 
earth  is  in  perihelion ;  and  it  corresponds 
to  a  similar  maximum  solar  force,  and  both 
'are  necessary  to  sustain  the  equilibrium  of 
the  system.  This  force  pervades  cosmical 
spheres  through  their  molecules.  It  is  a 
secret,  potent,  all-pervading  influence.     It 


VIEWS    OF    THE    UNIVERSE.  129 

appears  to  act  upon  the  molecules  of  celes- 
tial masses  like  extreme  pressm-e  applied 
to  masses  under  human  control.  Conden- 
sation, and  consequent  contraction,  must 
be  necessary  effects  of  the  stupendous 
compressive  or  repulsive  energy  exerted 
upon  a  body,  when  it  is  forced  into  such 
proximity  to  the  sun  as  to  be  wholly  in- 
compatible with  an  equipoised  display  of 
its  central  powers.  In  comets  so  sensi- 
ble to  the  controlling  influence  of  solar 
energy,  the  phenomena  of  alternate  con- 
densation and  expansion,  according  to  their 
nearness  to  the  central  body,  are  demon- 
strated to  the  eye.  The  material  structure 
of  the  earth  is  exceedingly  dense ;  but  we 
must,  nevertheless,  conclude  that  the  phy- 
sical changes  in  it,  resulting  from  the 
action  of  the  solar  forces,  must  be  similar 
to  and  as  determinate,  though  not  visible 
to  the  eye,  as  those  observed  in  more  rare 
and  translucent  spheres. 
9 


>^ 


130  *  COSMOGRAPHY  : 

The  second  class  of  evidence,  which  I 
shall  bring  to  sustain  my  proposition,  is 
internal ;  and  that,  of  course,  is  strictly  geo- 
logical in  its  character.  At  first  thought, 
it  would  seem  as  if  no  testimony  from  this 
quarter  could  bear  upon  the  question  ;  but 
the  earth  is  a  celestial  sphere,  like  other 
planets,  and  as  such  must  be  obedient, 
throughout  its  whole  molecular  structure, 
to  universal  laws.  This  class  of  evidence 
embraces  three  distinct  orders  of  pheno- 
mena, all  of  which  are  well  observed ;  but 
their  causes  heretofore  have  been  involved 
in  the  deepest  obscurity. 

I.  Geological  investigations  manifestly 
declare  that  the  surface  of  this  globe  was  at 
some  time,  and  perhaps  at  many  different 
times,  wholly  enveloped  by  the  ocean.  It 
is  probable  that,  in  the  morning  of  its  crea- 
tion, it  was  in  this  state  ;  wholly  surround- 
ed with  an  envelop  of  water  and  another 
of  air,  neither  of  which  was  disturbed  by 


VIEWS    OF    THE    UNIVERSE.  131 

such   prodigious    encroachments   of    solid 
matter  as  now  destroy  their  conformity. 

Geological  observations  also  show,  that 
elevations  and  depressions  of  vast  areas  of 
the  earth's  surface  have  taken  place  at 
various  ages,  and  that  these  changes  of  ele- 
vation cannot  have  been  spasmodic  and 
rapid ;  but  that  they  were  quiet  and 
gradual,  occupying  incalculable  periods  of 
time  for  their  accomplishment.  Volcanic 
agencies  produce  local  elevations  and  de- 
pressions, more  or  less  suddenly.  Islands 
and  mountains  may  be  suddenly  formed  or 
suddenly  sunk.  The  vent  of  volcanoes 
may  affect  comparatively  small  regions  of 
surface  in  their  vicinity,  so  that  they  may 
gradually  rise  or  subside  during  the  quies- 
cence or  activity  of  such  volcanoes.  But 
the  slow  and  insensible  submerging  or  ele- 
vation of  vast  continents,  so  gradual  that 
an  inch  or  a  foot  during  a  century  will 
only  guage  the  gain  or  loss  of  the  ocean, 


132  COSMOGRAPHY : 

cannot  be  accounted  for  by  ordinary  vol- 
canic agencies.  Forces  acting  from  the 
central  foundations  of  the  planet,  slowly, 
quietly,  insensibly,  as  the  march  of  time,  — 
as  insensibly,  as  gradually,  as  steadily,  as 
the  periodical  expansion  and  contraction  of 
the  whole  terrestrial  ball  itself, — will  alone 
explain  these  extraordinary  changes.  These 
elevations  and  depressions  are  positive 
and  unmistakable.  They  have  been  alter- 
nate and  numerous.  They  have  extended 
throughout  all  geological  periods.  They 
mark  ages  of  such  incalculable  length,  that 
the  mind  is  bewildered  in  its  attempts  to 
study  the  antiquity  of  their  beginnings. 

At  the  present  time,  the  whole  north  of 
Europe,  and  Greenland,  and  the  continent 
of  South  America,  are  slowly  rising  above 
the  sea ;  and  the  bed  of  the  South  Pacific 
ocean  is  sinking  deeper  below  the  surface. 
I  formed  a  similar  opinion  of  the  bed  of  the 
Indian  Ocean  in  1844,  during  my  explora- 


VIEWS    OF    THE    UNIVERSE.  133 

tion  of  the  Island  of  St.  Paul's,  which  con- 
tains an  extinct  and  partially  submerged 
crater.  The  nature  of  the  soil  and  appear- 
ance of  the  rocks  indicated  an  immense 
antiquity  ;  and  my  impressions,  as  I  con- 
templated its  solitary  position  and  its 
structure,  were,  that  it  was  only  a  tomb- 
stone marking  the  burial-place  of  a  conti- 
nent, long  since  engulfed  beneath  that  vast 
sea.  The  character  of  the  soundings  seve- 
ral miles  distant  from  the  island,  and  the 
color  of  the  ocean  observed  while  sailing 
two  days  in  a  south-easterly  direction  from 
it,  confirmed  this  impression.  Observa- 
tions of  travellers  on  the  coral  formations 
in  the  northern  parts  of  the  same  ocean 
have  established  this  opinion  as  a  geologi- 
cal fact. 

This  ponderous  uprising  and  subsidence 
of  whole  hemispheres  of  the  solid  earth 
cannot  be  accounted  for  by  the  ordinary 
operation  of  volcanic  causes.     The  agency 


134  COSMOGRAPHY : 

is  deeper  and  more  pervading.  It  operates 
more  steadily,  firmly,  powerfully,  and  uni- 
versally. How  prodigious  must  be  the 
forces  requisite  to  lift  whole  continents,  so 
slowly  and  steadily !  How  uniformly  and 
uninterruptedly  must  these  forces  act  to 
sustain  them,  and  to  let  them  fall  again  so 
quietly  and  insensibly  towards  the  centre 
of  the  globe !  "Where  shall  we  search  for 
agencies  short  of  the  fundamental  organic 
powers  which  operate  on  the  whole  mass  of 
the  planet  through  the  individual  motion 
of  its  molecules?  Nothing  short  of  the 
action  of  stupendous  radial  forces  can  pro- 
duce such  gigantic  geological  phenomena. 

How  do  these  forces  act  to  produce 
such  extraordinary  results  ? 

The  theory  of  central  heat  is  not  new. 
The  common  phenomena  of  hot  springs 
and  volcanic  eruptions,  and  recent  obser- 
vations of  the  increase  of  temperature  the 
deeper  we  descend  beneath  the  surface,  has 


VIEWS    OF    THE    UNIVERSE.  135 

nearly  decided  the  opinion  of  scientific  men 
on  this  question. 

The  theory  of  the  chemical  creation  of 
the  earth  here  presented  exhibits,  in  the 
beginning,  such  an  amount  of  voltaic 
action,  that  the  whole  interior  of  the 
globe  must  necessarily  be  subjected  to 
the  highest  degree  of  incandescence.  The 
present  and  remotest  time  equally  sustain 
this  theory  by  the  numerous  exhibitions  of 
molten  matter  which  have  been  poured  out 
from  the  interior  of  the  globe,  through  fis- 
sures in  its  crust.  Some  philosophers  have 
made  numerical  calculations  on  the  ex- 
cessive degree  of  heat  which  must  apper- 
tain to  the  molten  mass  of  the  central  parts 
of  the  globe.  It  is  only  necessary  for  my 
argument  to  mention  this  fact,  when  the 
extreme  degree  of  fluidity  of  the  molten 
matter  will  be  at  once  comprehended.  This 
condition  of  it  would  greatly  facilitate  the 
mobility  of  its  molecules. 


136 


COSMOGRAPHY  I 


Now,  suppose  the  terrestrial  sphere 
started  on  its  course,  for  the  sun,  from 
that  region  of  space  where  it  received  its 
creation.  It  would  fly  on,  drawn  by  the 
accelerating  power  of  the  solar  centre,  con- 
densing as  it  flew ;  and  at  last  it  would 
reach  that  point  of  its  rectilinear  course, 
when  the  individual  repulsion  of  its  mole- 
cules would  assume  an  active  and  positive 
radial  force,  create  enormous  tension,  and 
begin  to  exhibit  itself  as  a  planetary  power. 
Now,  its  own  repulsion,  or  the  sun's,  or 
both  united,  would  compel  it  to  change  the 
direction  of  its  motion,  and  to  assume  a 
curvilinear  course.  Here  its  orbit  would 
commence  its  birth,  and  the  planet  would 
continue  to  advance  with  accumulating  ve- 
locity. Advancing  motion  would  be  accom- 
panied by  a  corresponding  accumulation 
of  molecules  towards  the  centre,  an  abso- 
lute contraction  in  volume,  and  an  equal 
increase  of  internal  tension  and  molecular 


VIEWS    OF    THE    UNIVERSE.  137 

repulsion.  Having  reached  the  perihelion, 
itg  contraction,  and  the  intensity  of  its  ac- 
cumulated forces  of  atomic  and  planetary 
reaction  and  repulsion,  would  be  greatest. 
Passing  this  point,  the  terrestrial  mass 
would  begin  to  be  relieved  from  this  com- 
plex influence  of  forces  which  had  con- 
strained the  relations  of  its  molecules  like 
external  pressure ;  and  it  would  recede 
from  the  sun,  gradually  regaining  its  ato- 
mic equilibrium,  and  expanding  in  all  its 
radial  dimensions. 

The  greatest  degree  of  repulsive  action 
exerted  between  its  molecules  and  masses 
must  take  place  when  the  earth  is  contract- 
ing its  volume,  and  during  its  advance 
towards,  and  while  in  the  more  immediate 
neighborhood  of,  the  sun.  At  the  time 
when  it  approached  so  near  to  the  central 
body  as  to  be  deflected  into  an  elliptical 
orbit,  it  must  have  attained  that  degree  of 
tension,  which  alone  was  compatible  with 


138  COSMOGRAPHY  : 

its  molecular  equilibrium.  A  forcible  ad- 
vancement beyond  this  point  would  neces- 
sarily destroy  that  equilibrium,  and  incite 
an  increasing  intensity  in  all  its  repulsive 
forces,  and  a  radial  reflex  action,  so  strong 
in  various  directions,  and  at  different  times, 
as  to  create  distension  of  the  semi-fluid 
surface,  or  fissures  in  the  hardened  crust, 
attended  with  outpourings  of  molten  mat- 
ter. Thus,  as  the  earth  is  approaching, 
and  nearest  to,  the  sun,  its  internal  tension 
is  so  great  that  it  is  ready,  at  any  moment, 
to  burst  its  crust,  and  to  give  vent  to  its 
confined  currents  of  molten  fluid,  in  the 
thinnest  and  weakest  parts  of  its  surface. 
Any  pointing,  whether  produced  by  crack- 
ing or  quiet  elevation  of  the  surface,  would 
form  a  sort  of  focus,  exposed  subsequently 
to  a  more  intense  action  of  internal  radial 
force.  Whatever  the  amount  of  elevation 
of  solid  matter,  the  depth  of  the  ocean  over 
that   part  would    be   diminished,   and   its 


VIEWS    OF    THE    UNIVERSE.  139 

volume  would  be  augmented  over  other 
parts  of  the  earth.  Great  irregularities  of 
surface  having  been  induced,  difference  in 
gravity  of  the  undulating  parts  would  aid 
to  increase  the  irregularity.  Atmospheric 
and  hydrostatic  pressure  would  diminish 
on  the  rising  surface,  while  it  would  in- 
crease to  a  corresponding  degree  on  the 
subsiding  parts.  The  radial  reaction  of 
the  internal  fluid  mass  would  act  the  most 
energetically  where  it  encountered  the  least 
resistance.  And  thus,  in  the  course  of  count- 
less revolutions  of  the  earth,  the  periodical 
expansion  and  contraction  of  the  globe 
would  bring  about  the  slow  and  gigantic 
changes  of  elevation  and  depression  which 
are  at  present  transpiring,  and  which  can 
be  traced  through  various  geological  pe- 
riods. 

The  upheaving  and  subsidence  of  hemi- 
spheres are  effected  so  slowly,  that  the 
changes  can  be  discovered  only  by  the  pa- 


140  COSMOGRAPHY : 

tient  observation  of  centuries.  However 
slow  and  imperceptible,  these  changes  are 
positive ;  and  the  agency  producing  them 
is  quiet,  uniform,  irresistible,  and  universal. 
The  motion  of  the  interior  fluids,  which 
alone  can  create  and  sustain  these  slow 
and  vast  revolutions  of  the  surface,  must 
be  connected  with,  and  controlled  by,  the 
supreme  forces  which  chain  the  earth  to 
the  central  body.  What  other  agency  can 
produce  them  ?  What  but  an  agency  like 
this  could  have  produced  that  wonderful 
chain  of  American  elevations,  extending 
from  the  arctic  to  the  antarctic  circles? 
The  expansive  power  of  the  compressed 
and  reacting  fluid  was  such  as  to  rend 
asunder  one  entire  side  of  the  globe,  project 
the  hardened  crust,  and  here  and  there  ob- 
tain vent  for  itself  through  fissures  opened 
to  the  surface.  Here  the  pointing  was 
irregularly  linear,  and  extending  almost 
from  pole  to  pole  ;    and  the  result  of  that 


VIEWS    OF    THE    UNIVERSE.  141 

first  impulsive   movement    has    been   the 
slow  and  gradual  upheaving  of  the  whole 
American  continent,  and  a  corresponding 
subsidence  of  the  bed  of  the  Pacific  Ocean. 
II.  Another  order  of  effects,  of  a  geologi- 
cal but   comparatively  isolated   character, 
presents  itself  to  substantiate  the  view  set 
forth  in  this  inquiry.     These  are  volcanic 
phenomena.      Though   isolated,   they    are 
numerous,  and  must  form  an  array  of  evi- 
dence,  taken  in  the  aggregate,  decidedly 
favorable  or  unfavorable  to  any  hypothesis 
relating  to  the  revolutions  of  the  earth's 
surface.     They  are  connected  with  the  mo- 
tion of  the  fluid  mass  of  the  interior  of  the 
globe.      Earthquakes   and    volcanic   erup- 
tions manifest  themselves  in  various  quar- 
ters of  the  earth.     No  region  of  the  surface 
of  this  vast  sphere,  so  far  as  we  know,  has 
been  or  is  exempt  from  exhibitions  of  these 
phenomena.     Being  universal,  their  cause 
must  be  equally  so.     If  the  accumulated 


142  COSMOGRAPHY  : 

tension  of  the  fluids  of  the  inner  parts  of 
the  planet  exist  by  special  relation  of  its 
distance  from  the  sun,  we  must  expect  to 
find  a  greater  number  of  volcanic  pheno- 
mena occurring  during  the  earth's  repul- 
sive condition,  or  when  it  is  approaching 
the  sun,  and  while  occupying  the  parts  of 
its  orbit  nearest  the  solar  focus.  What  are 
the  facts  on  this  point  ?  So  far  as  scientific 
statistics  have  been  accumulated,  it  is  as- 
certained that  the  greatest  number  of 
earthquakes  occur  in  the  months  of  Decem- 
ber and  January.  Mr.  Robert  Mallet,  who 
presented  a  report  on  the  "  Facts  of  earth- 
quake phenomena"  to  the  British  Asso- 
ciation, held  in  Ipswich  July  2,  1851,  made 
this  statement  after  the  computations  of 
a  catalogue  of  earthquakes  amounting  to 
nearly  six  thousand,  and  extending  from 
remotest  observations  to  the  date  of  his 
report.  The  report  is  made  with  remarka- 
ble scientific  exactness,  and  was  designed 


VIEWS    OF    THE    UNIVERSE.  143 

to  sustain  a  special  theory  of  his  own.  The 
evidence  furnished  to  this  inquiry  is  inci- 
dental, and  therefore  of  the  greater  value. 
The  catalogue  I  have  not  seen  ;  but,  from 
the  studious  care  for  scientific  accuracy 
exhibited  by  the  author  in  the  details  of  his 
observations,  I  have  great  confidence  in  its 
fidelity;  and  a  special  analysis  of  it,  in 
reference  to  this  great  question,  would  pro- 
bably do  much  towards  its  elucidation. 

The  western  part  of  South  America  is  a 
volcanic  focus ;  and  the  frequency  of  earth- 
quakes in  those  regions  is  so  great,  that 
they  may  furnish  some  evidence  on  this 
important  subject.  A  writer  in  "  Black- 
wood's Magazine"  for  July,  1846,  makes 
this  statement,  drawn  probably  from  Dr. 
Tschudi's  Travels  in  Persia,  as  well  as  from 
other  sources :  "  At  Lima,  earthquakes  fre- 
quently occur.  On  an  average  of  years, 
five  and  forty  shocks  are  annually  felt, 
most   of   which    occur   in    the    latter  half 


144  COSMOGRAPHY : 

of  October,  in  November,  December,  and 
January,  and  in  May  and  June.  January 
is  the  worst  month ;  during  which,  in  many 
years,  scarcely  a  day  passes  without  con- 
vulsions of  this  kind." 

These  facts  are  certainly  extraordinary ; 
and  the  report  of  Mr.  Mallet  to  the  British 
Association  was  so  striking  in  this  particu- 
lar, that  "  Mr.  Hopkins  remarked,  that, 
while  he  placed  no  faith  in  such  indica- 
tions as  those  of  earthquakes  being  more 
frequent  in  winter,  they  ivere  yet  very  curi- 
ous, and  it  was  not  yet  known  how  much 
might  be  due  to  the  influence  of  apparently 
trivial  causes." 

The  causes  which  produce  these  remark- 
able periodical  exacerbations  of  internal 
force  are  by  no  means  trivial  or  accidental. 
They  coincide  with  the  periodicity  of  the 
earth's  more  intimate  relation  with  the 
sun ;  they  coincide  with  the  period  when 
the  tension  and  molecular  repulsive  action 


VIEWS    OF    THE    UNIVERSE.  145 

of  the  interior  of  the  globe  is  greatest ; 
and  it  must  be  clear  to  all  minds,  if  the 
crust  of  the  earth  be  so  weak  in  certain 
parts  as  not  to  sustain  the  radial  repulsive 
action  of  its  fluid  interipr,  —  which  is  ex- 
erted with  irresistible  power  to  elevate 
entire  continents,  —  that  it  must  be  rent 
asunder,  and  the  molten  currents  be  injected 
into  fissures,  or  between  strata,  dislodging 
them  in  various  directions,  and  thereby 
convulsing  the  solid  ground.  These  mani- 
festations of  internal  repulsive  forces  are 
earthquakes;  and,  though  the  chemical 
and  galvanic  changes  going  on  within  the 
globe  may  be  such  as  to  produce  isolated 
phenomena  of  a  similar  kind,  still  the 
increasing  tension  of  the  planet  as  it 
approaches  the  sun,  and  the  continuance 
of  that  tension  while  it  is  nearest  the  cen- 
tral body,  would  give  efficiency  to  local 
agencies,  and  render  earthquakes  and  vol- 
canic eruptions  more  frequent  from  July  to 
10 


146  COSMOGRAPHY : 

February  or  March,  than  during  the  other 
months  of  the  year.  Facts,  so  far  as  my 
own  researches  extend,  sustain  the  views 
which  are  presented ;  and  I  desire  to  invite 
the  attention  of  travellers  and  scientific 
persons  to  this  announcement,  with  the 
hope  that  rigid  observations  and  inquiries 
may  be  instituted,  which  may  determine 
the  truth  of  this  interesting  question. 

To  strengthen  the  weight  of  the  evi- 
dence derived  from  volcanic  phenomena, 
and  which  bears  on  the  question  of  the 
earth's  contraction  during  its  advance,  and 
the  augmented  radial  pressure  of  its  mol- 
ten interior  on  its  crust,  while  in  those 
parts  of  its  orbit  nearest  to  the  sun,  —  it 
is  desirable  to  ascertain  if  these  local  ex- 
hibitions of  internal  force  occur  simulta- 
neously in  regions  far  distant  from  each 
other.  My  own  memoranda  are  limited, 
having  been  commenced  in  August,  1852. 
But   it   is   very   remarkable,   so    far,   that 


VIEWS    OF    THE    UNIVERSE.  147 

subterranean  violence  should  have  been 
exhibited  on  three  different  occasions  si- 
multaneously, in  parts  of  the  planet  remote 
from  one  another. 

The  first  was  on  the  20th  of  August, 
when  Mount  Etna  assumed  intense  acti- 
vity, accompanied  by  an  earthquake  and 
an  immense  flow  of  lava.  On  the  same 
day,  Cuba  was  shaken  by  an  awful  earth- 
quake, Santiago  was  partially  destroyed, 
and  eruptions  of  lava  broke  out  on  the 
island.  This  circumstance  is  very  remark- 
able, and  should  stimulate  scientific  mind 
to  great  activity  in  its  investigation  of  the 
causes  of  these  events. 

The  second  coincidence  of  volcanic 
phenomena,  in  regions  remote  from  each 
other,  occurred  on  the  10th  of  October, 
when  Luzon  was  visited  by  a  terrific  earth- 
quake ;  and,  on  the  same  day,  two  distinct 
earthquake  shocks  were  felt  at  Clinton, 
Georgia. 


148  COSMOGRAPHY  '. 

The  third  occurred  on  the  26th  of  No- 
vember, when  Cuba  was  again  convulsed 
with  great  intensity ;  and  a  distinct,  but  not 
violent,  earthquake  shock  was  felt  in  the 
northern  part  of  Massachusetts,  and  the 
southern  part  of  New  Hampshire. 

Besides  these  coincidences,  the  outpour- 
ings of  Etna  have  been  continuous,  from 
the  20th  of  August  into  the  month  of 
December;  and,  in  the  meantime,  earth- 
quakes of  greater  or  less  violence  have 
occurred,  at  longer  or  shorter  intervals, 
and  sometimes  almost  simultaneously,  in 
Luzon,  Chili,  Peru,  Mexico,  California, 
New  Hampshire,  Virginia,  Georgia,  Texas, 
the  West  India  Islands,  north  of  England 
and  Ireland,  south  of  Spain,  Teneriffe, 
north  of  Hungary,  and  in  China.  It  is 
very  probable  that  others  have  convulsed 
the  beds  of  the  oceans,  or  the  interior  of 
Africa  or  Asia,  of  which  we  have  no 
accounts. 


VIEWS    OF    THE    UNIVERSE. 


149 


These  facts  all  point  to  a  similarity  of 
internal  pressure  on  the  crust  of  the  globe ; 
and  transpiring  remotely  from  each  other, 
at  the  same  time,  or  at  short  intervals, 
they  indicate  a  universal  action  radiating 
from  the  centre  to  the  circumference  of 
the  sphere;  and  they  thus  strengthen 
the  weight  of  the  argument  herein  pre- 
sented. 

The  evidence  of  Mr.  Mallet's  catalogue 
must  furnish  important  data  in  this  con- 
nection. As  the  remarks  in  his  report, 
however,  are  only  incidental,  they  are  not 
so  full  as  I  could  wish  ;  but  future  analysis 
will  make  his  records  of  great  value  in  this 
branch  of  inquiry.  The  general  result  of 
his  analysis  is,  that  "  coincident  earth- 
quakes in  time  at  distant  places  on  the 
earth's  surface  have  been  by  no  means  rare, 
as  at  Iceland  and  Norway,  Poland  and 
Constantinople,  &c."  For  further  facts  of 
this  sort,  he  refers  to  his  catalogue.     With 


150 


COSMOGRAPHY : 


regard  to  one  coincidence  which  seemed 
to  have  a  doubtful  bearing  on  his  own 
views  of  the  transmission  of  the  earthquake 
wave,  he  says,  "  There  is  some  ground  for 
believing  that  one  and  the  same  shock  of 
earthquake  was  felt  on  November  16th, 
1827,  at  places  nearly  antipodal,  viz.  at 
Ochotsk  and  at  Columbia  in  South  Ame- 
rica; and,  if  so,  had  its  origin  not  very 
remote  from  the  centre  of  the  earth." 

The  fact  that  violent  earthquakes  occur 
when  the  earth  is  receding  from  the  sun, 
and  its  whole  molecular  structure  is  dila- 
ting in  volume,  does  not  invalidate  the 
force  of  the  argument  founded  on  their 
greater  uniform  average,  during  the  earth's 
approach  and  its  passage  through  the  parts 
of  its  orbit  nearest  to  the  central  body.  It 
would  only  demonstrate  the  uninterrupted 
activity  of  the  radial  forces,  and  the  ex- 
treme tension  of  the  molten  currents  of  the 
interior   of  the   globe.      Besides,  constant 


VIEWS    OF    THE    UNIVERSE.  151 

changes  in  the  arrangement  of  the  mole- 
cules must  favor  developments  of  chemical 
and  galvanic  forces  of  a  gigantic  character, 
and  abnormal  causes  would  be  very  likely 
to  produce  untimely  events.  This  sort  of 
agencies  would  be  local  and  spasmodic, 
and  scarcely  tend  to  disturb,  for  a  moment, 
the  uniformity  of  the  slow  and  universal 
causes  of  elevation  and  depression  of  the 
hemispheres  which  are  exerted  virtually 
through  the  radii  of  the  entire  planet. 

It  is  more  than  probable  that  certain  un- 
timely occurrences,  alluded  to  above,  and 
the  irregular  periodicity  which  have  been 
observed  in  volcanic  and  earthquake  phe- 
nomena in  different  regions  of  the  globe, 
may  be  connected  with  the  conjunctions 
occurring  at  various  intervals  between  the 
earth  and  the  internal  and  external  planets. 
From  its  close  relation  to  the  earth,  and  its 
periodical  nearness  to  the  sun  and  to  the 
planet  Venus,  we  should  naturally  expect 


152  COSMOGRAPHY : 

that  the  moon  would  be  subject  to  that 
sort  of  radial  molecular  action  which  would 
make  it  peculiarly  the  seat  of  intense  vol- 
canic forces.  It  is  a  remarkable  fact  that 
telescopic  scrutiny  demonstrates  this  to  be 
unmistakably  the  case.  Even  as  long  ago 
as  1787,  in  the  month  of  April,  —  a  period 
when  the  satellite  is  drawing  near  to  the 
earth,  —  Sir  William  Herschel  discovered 
three  burning  mountains  in  the  moon,  and 
observed  their  changing  aspects  for  several 
nights.  The  vast  crater  mountains  and 
enormous  ravines  and  fissures  which  mark 
the  surface  of  its  visible  hemisphere,  all 
indicate  the  most  violent  radial  energies 
to  have  been  exerted  within  it  during  past 
time.  The  opinions  of  selenographists  are 
uniform  in  declaring  its  surface  to  be  in- 
finitely more  broken  and  irregular  than  the 
surface  of  our  own  globe.  The  nature  of 
the  forces,  both  distant  and  present,  which 
have    produced    these    similar    superficial 


VIEWS    OF    THE    UNIVERSE.  153 

irregularities,  must  be  identical ;  and  if  the 
doctrine  set  forth  in  this  treatise  be  true,  it 
will  appear  —  to  say  nothing  of  the  ab- 
sence of  aqueous  and  atmospheric  envelops 
—  that  the  moon  will  not  for  a  long  period, 
perhaps  never,  become  habitable  to  the 
higher  orders  of  organic  life. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  of  identity  be- 
tween the  craters,  lava  currents,  and  other 
volcanic  aspects  of  the  moon,  and  of  simi- 
lar conditions,  both  recent  and  ancient,  of 
the  earth's  surface.  The  largest  and  deep- 
est extinct  crater  on  our  globe  is  probably 
that  of  Hale-e-ka-la  (in  Polynesian  dialect, 
"  the  house  of  the  sun  "),  on  the  Island  of 
Maui,  which  I  have  examined  several  times 
with  intense  interest.  Though  ten  thou- 
sand feet  high, —  and  observed  from  a  dis- 
tance appearing  like  a  beautiful  dome, — 
with  an  abrupt  crater  2500  feet  deep,  and 
perhaps  twenty-five  miles  in  circumference, 
presenting  sixteen  small  craters  from  two 


154  cosmography: 

to  eight  hundred  feet  in  height,  rising 
from  its  pent-up  floor  of  black,  rough,  and 
glistening  lava,  it  is  still  a  mere  pigmy 
in  comparison  with  Bailly,  Clavius,  Schi- 
kard,  and  many  other  lunar  craters.  The 
resemblance  between  the  aspects  of  the 
great  crater  mountains  of  the  moon  and  of 
Hale-e-ka-la  in  the  Hawaiian  Islands,  and 
of  Malinche  and  the  numerous  isolated 
volcanic  cones  of  vast  dimensions  which 
I  have  observed  in  Mexico,  has  filled  me 
with  such  amazement,  that,  when  examin- 
ing the  moon,  I  have  almost  imagined  it  to 
be  a  part  of  our  own  planet.  All  observing 
travellers  who  have  visited  volcanic  regions 
of  the  earth,  and  then  surveyed  the  moon 
through  suitable  telescopes,  must  have  been 
impressed  in  the  same  forcible  manner. 
Like  causes,  under  the  same  circumstances, 
beget  like  results ;  and  so  we  find  the  vol- 
canic upheavals  of  the  moon's  surface 
exhibiting  proof  of  the  strongest  kind  to 


VIEWS    OF    THE    UNIVERSE.  155 

sustain  the  general  law  of  molecular  ex- 
pansion and  contraction  of  all  revolving 
spheres,  as  the  special  results  of  their  rela- 
tion to  central  bodies. 

III.  Besides  the  geological  changes  aris- 
ing from  the  sensible  action  of  the  dense 
molten  ocean  which  fills  the  interior  of  the 
globe,  there  is  an  order  of  appearances  in 
its  solid  crust,  which  presents  strong  evi- 
dence to  the  point,  that  the  earth  is  under- 
going alternate  contractions  and  expan- 
sions of  its  entire  volume.  They  appear  to 
be  universal  effects  of  molecular  motion  in 
the  solid  matter,  and  of  a  steady  and  quiet 
pressure, —  the  result  of  internal  tension 
on  the  crystalline  crust  of  the  planet,  —  in 
contradistinction  to  the  local  and  circum- 
scribed action  of  violent  and  spasmodic 
outbreaks,  occasioned  by  igneous  ulcera- 
tions, or  weakness  of  the  surface.  This 
class  of  appearances  embraces  the  fissures, 
cleavages,    splits,    and     heaves,    so    well 


156 


cosmography: 


known  to  miners,  and  mostly  occurring 
in  directions  north-south  and  east-west 
throughout  the  entire  globe,  from  its  sur- 
face to  the  greatest  depths  explored  by  man. 
There  is  much  reason  to  believe,  that  a 
careful  study  of  many  dislocations  of  strata, 
heretofore  supposed  to  have  been  produced 
by  sudden  and  spasmodic  upheavings,  will 
prove  them  to  have  resulted  from  the  quiet, 
gradual,  and  long-continued  action  of  a 
radial  repulsive  force.  These  fissures  or 
splits  in  the  crust,  of  great  depth  and  ex- 
tent, are  sometimes  observed  to  take  place 
in  mines  unaccompanied  by  earthquakes, 
or  sensible  subterranean  convulsions.  They 
are  sometimes  so  sudden  as  to  create 
alarm  among  the  miners,  and  so  extensive 
that  the  solid  crystalline  structure  of  the 
crust  will  open  several  hundred  feet,  and 
in  some  places  a  number  of  inches  in 
width.  Sudden  concussions  and  internal 
sounds  are  frequently  heard  in  the  mines 


VIEWS    OF    THE    UNIVERSE.  157 

of  all  countries ;  and  the  sides  of  veins 
often  bulge  out  in  such  a  manner,  that  all 
.mechanical  resistance  to  their  movement 
is  without  avail.  What  is  very  extraordi- 
nary, these  circumstances  transpire  without 
sensible  agitation  of  the  earth.  Noises, 
evidently,  from  their  varying  sounds,  the 
result  of  cracking  of  the  crystalline  rock, 
have  been  heard  on  the  surface  of  the  earth 
in  various  countries,  when  they  were  not 
heard  in  mines  many  hundred  feet  below. 
The  contrary  of  this  has  also  been  ob- 
served ;  and  noises,  unattended  with  earth- 
quake movements,  have  been  heard  in 
mines,  so  as  to  alarm  their  occupants, 
when  on  the  surface  nothing  of  the  kind 
has  been  heard. 

These  are  very  interesting  phenomena 
considered  in  this  connection ;  and  their 
cause,  as  universal  as  their  extent,  may  be 
traced  directly  to  the  molecular  disturbance 
of  the  solid  crust,  and  to  the   alternating 


158  COSMOGRAPHY : 

change  of  volume  which  is  constantly  go- 
ing on  throughout  the  entire  solid  and  fluid 
contents  of  the  globe. 

Such  is  the  internal  or  geognostic  evi- 
dence, that  the  globe  expands  and  contracts 
periodically,  and  in  direct  relation  to  its 
distance  from  the  central  body.  These  al- 
ternate changes  produce  the  vast  irregu- 
larities of  its  surface,  either  slowly  when 
operating  under  immense  areas,  or  actively 
when  local  circumstances  may  increase  the 
intensity  of  the  universal  force  on  some 
particular  part  of  the  crust. 

These  two  classes  of  evidence  being 
tenable  respecting  the  earth,  we  must  con- 
clude that  all  other  planets  will  sustain  the 
same  relations  to  the  sun,  and  be  affected 
physically  in  the  same  manner. 

Similar  inequalities  of  surface  would  be 
produced  by  similar  causes ;  and  thus  we 
jfind  the  moon  and  various  planets,  as  far 


VIEWS    OF    THE    UNIVERSE.  159 

as  telescopic  observation  can  reach,  to  have 
undergone  the  same  physical  changes 
which  are  still  progressing  upon  this  planet. 
How  central  and  radiating,  then,  must  be 
the  universal  cause  of  molecular  motion  in 
the  planetary  masses,  when  the  results  are 
so  uniform  throughout  the  system  !  Such 
causes  must  be  exerted  by  the  great  central 
controlling  force,  and  that  force  is  embo- 
somed in  the  sun.  It  embraces  all  revolv- 
ing spheres  in  its  far-reaching  influence, 
acting  silently  and  powerfully  through  their 
molecular  structure,  and  stimulating  their 
internal  forces  to  exhibitions  of  phenomena, 
too  wonderful  and  multifarious  to  be  easily 
understood  by  man. 

Need  further  evidence  or  reasoning  be 
adduced  to  sustain  the  proposition  which 
has  been  laid  down  ?  It  is  promulgated 
as  a  universal  physical  fact,  growing  out 
of  the  great  fundamental  laws  of  cosmical 
attraction  and  repulsion  ;  and  I  must  leave 


160  COSMOGRAPHY : 

all  my  deductions  to  be  sustained  or  over- 
thrown by  the  results  of  future  investiga- 
tions. 

The  existence  of  a  force  antagonistical 
to  that  of  gravitation  has  seemed  to  me  as 
necessary  for  the  stability  of  the  universe 
as  that  of  gravitation  itself.  The  action  of 
the  two  forces  would  create  the  compound 
motion  requisite  for  the  constitution  and 
maintenance  of  the  planetary  orbits.  The 
present  doctrine  of  centrifugal  force,  ap- 
plied to  the  motion  of  the  revolving  orbs, 
embraces  a  negative  and  lifeless  idea. 
The  term  "  tangential  force "  is  perhaps 
considered  by  some  as  more  significantly 
expressive  of  an  unknown  power  acting 
upon  an  inert  sphere ;  but  whence  the  ori- 
gin of  that  power  ?  In  the  beginning,  all 
matter  sought  the  great  central  focus,  and 
would  have  reached  it,  had  it  not  been 
repelled.     Molecular  attraction  and  repul- 


VIEWS    OF    THE    UNIVERSE.  161 

sion  are  but  the  diminutives  of  the  vast 
energies  which  sustain  worlds  and  suns  at 
fixed  distances  from  each  other.  Planets 
are  like  atoms  floating  in  boundless  space, 
whose  relations  are  definite  and  eternal; 
and  they  can  neither  approach  nor  recede 
beyond  the  limits  of  laws  which  bind  them 
to  the  great  central  body.  Laws  govern- 
ing atoms  act  in  complete  harmony  with 
laws  controlling  spheres.  When  planets 
are  in  aphelion,  it  would  appear  as  if  their 
molecules  are  at  greater,  though  still  insen- 
sible, distances  from  each  other,  and  more 
in  equilibrium,  than  when  in  other  parts 
of  their  orbit.  When  they  begin  to  press 
toward  the  sun,  their  molecules  sympathize 
with  the  solar  power,  and  begin  to  press 
toward  each  other.  As  the  intensity  of 
solar  gravitation  increases,  a  corresponding 
activity  of  molecular  condensation  takes 
place  in  the  advancing  sphere ;  and  this 
increases  until  the  perihelion  is  reached. 
11 


162  COSMOGRAPHY : 

Here  molecules  and  orbs  alike  have  at- 
tained their  greatest  degree  of  juxtaposi- 
tion, and  they  exchange  forces.  Beyond 
the  perihelion  the  sun  yields  its  attraction, 
and  the  molecules  of  the  sphere  recede 
from  each  other  in  proportion  as  the  sphere 
recedes  from  the  sun;  and  they  continue 
to  seek  that  degree  of  equilibrium  which 
they  possessed  in  aphelion,  where  solar 
influence  is  at  its  minimum.  In  this  solar 
action  on  the  vast  planetary  masses,  we 
see  but  the  counterpart  exhibited  in  the 
forces  which  play  between  molecules.  The 
physical  results  of  this  law  of  mutual  rela- 
tion is  demonstrated  to  the  eye  in  the 
translucent  spheres  of  comets ;  it  is  exhi- 
bited by  various  sensible  phenomena  on 
this  earth ;  and,  by  optical  aid,  we  behold 
in  other  planets  the  same  stupendous  cos- 
mographic  changes  which  molecular  mobi- 
lity, superinduced  by  solar  influence,  has 
effected   in    our   own   globe.      Thus   does 


VIEWS    OF    THE    UNIVERSE.  163 

the  entire  material  universe  harmonize 
throughout  its  frame.  In  the  minutest 
monad  and  the  mightiest  sphere,  we  wit- 
ness the  operation  of  kindred  forces ;  and, 
while  one  rotates  in  microscopic  epicycles 
to  fulfil  the  destinies  of  its  creation,  the 
other  rolls  in  majestic  circuits  through 
immensity  of  space,  to  accomplish,  with 
equally  wonderful  precision  and  harmony, 
the  mysterious  plan  of  its  being. 

In  reviewing  this  broad  and  interesting 
field  of  research,  two  prominent  ideas  are 
presented  forcibly  to  the  mind,  relative  to 
the  state  of  human  knowledge.  We  are 
surprised  at  the  immense  accumulations 
of  exact  learning,  and  at  the  progress 
of  scientific  discovery,  since  the  days  of 
Copernicus ;  and  we  are  impressed  with 
the  magnitude  of  the  experimental  and 
contemplative  labor  to  be  performed  during 
succeeding   ages,  to  connect,  by  inductive 


164  COSMOGRAPHY : 

science,   present    and    known    forms    and 
forces  with  the  forms  arid  forces  of  the  dis- 
tant reahiis  of  space,  and  to  dispel  the  mys- 
teries which  enshroud  the  manifold  works 
of  the  Creator.     The  more  profound  and 
exact  the  inquiry,  the  greater  is  the  simpli- 
city discovered  in  the  nature  of  physical 
laws,  and  in  the  methods  of  their  operation. 
This  has  uniformly  been  the  result  of  all 
sound  generalization ;   and  the  multiplied 
forms  of  physical  force  and  material  being, 
heretofore  wrapt  in  obscurity,  or  exhibiting 
great  complexity,  are  resolving  themselves, 
one  by  one,  into  the  most  beautiful  unity 
and  order,  under  the  brilliant  light  of  mo- 
dern discovery.     Even  the  views  exposed 
here  for  the  first  time  to  the  consideration 
of  scientific  men,  that  thio  earth  and  all 
planets  undergo  periodical  changes  of  vo- 
lume, and  variations,  both  in  character  and 
in  intensity,  of  their  internal  and  external 
radial   forces,  and  that  a  cosmical  radial 


VIEWS    OF    THE    UNIVERSE.  165 

repulsive  power  is  generated  during  their 
molecular  condensation,  are  rendered  the 
more  probable  by  recent  experiments  of 
Faraday,  Pliicker,  and  Matteucci,  on  vari- 
ous forms  of  matter.  They  have  disco- 
vered that  the  magnetic  property  of  all 
substances  has  its  attractive  force  dimi- 
nished materially  by  heat ;  and  that  the 
diamagnetic  property  loses  scarcely  any  of 
its  repulsive  power  by  the  same  cause. 
Iron,  for  instance,  which  exhibits  a  maxi- 
mum of  attractive  force,  has  that  force 
diminished  fifteen  million  times  by  fusion ; 
while  bismuth,  which  exhibits  a  maximum 
diamagnetic  force,  suffers  by  fusion  a  very 
slight  loss  of  its  repulsive  power.  Profes- 
sor Matteucci,  by  most  carefully  conducted 
experiments,  has  established  the  fact,  that 
mechanical  pressure,  applied  to  diamag- 
netic substances,  increases  their  repulsive 
force  very  sensibly,  according  to  the  de- 
crease of  their  volume  and  the  increase  of 


166  COSMOGRAPHY : 

their  density.  This  is  a  remarkable  fact; 
and,  though  a  mere  experiment,  it  demon- 
strates the  inherent  and  wonderful  forces 
of  matter;  and,  if  the  mass  submitted  to 
experiment  be  augmented  in  volume,  and 
a  corresponding  degree  of  compression 
applied,  the  exhibition  of  forces  generated 
will  be  proportionally  great.  This  earth 
being  a  compound  of  matter  possessed  of 
paramagnetic  and  diamagnetic,  attractive 
and  repulsive  properties,  it  would  probably 
be  influenced  under  natural,  as  small 
amounts  of  matter  would  be  under  arti- 
ficial, circumstances.  If  the  contraction 
of  the  planet  should  be  accompanied  by 
increased  accumulations  of  internal  heat, 
as  is  very  probable,  its  attraction  as  a 
planetary  power  would  be  progressively 
diminished ;  and,  if  its  condensation  was 
accompanied  by  an  increased  repulsive 
power,  that  power  would  be  exerted  as  a 
planetary  influence,  and    hold  the  revolv- 


VIEWS    OF    THE    UNIVERSE.  167 

ing  sphere  at  definite  distances  from  the 
central  body.  A  universal  magnetic  con- 
dition of  the  eavth  has  been  ascertained  to 
exist,  when  formerly  it  was  only  suspected, 
on  account  of  the  correspondence  of  elec- 
trical experiments  with  certain  terrestrial 
phenomena.  It  remains  now  for  science 
to  demonstrate  clearly  a  diamagnetic  con- 
dition of  the  globe,  and  to  establish  the 
existence  of  paramagnetism  and  diamag- 
netism,  or  of  two  similar  universal  and 
opposite  principles,  as  organic  agents,  lying 
at  the  foundation  of  all  cosmical  creations, 
reigning  over  their  atomic  structure  and 
sidereal  relations  by  reciprocal  influences, 
and  consolidating  the  resplendent  frame- 
work of  the  universe,  to  w^hose  boundaries 
human  sight  or  knowledge  can  never 
extend. 

The  pursuit  of  this  inquiry  has  led  to  the 
development   of  a  sublime  and  beautiful 


168  COSMOGRAPHY : 

truth,  uniting  inseparably  the  two  great  de- 
partments of  astronomical  and  geological 
science.  Heretofore  they  have  been  as 
widely  separated  as  the  heavens  and  the 
earth.  Astronomers,  so  charmed  with  the 
glories  of  the  celestial  universe,  have  hardly 
devoted  an  hour  to  contemplations  of  the 
physical  structure  of  our  own  planet.  Geo- 
logists, so  amazed  at  the  countless  ves- 
tiges of  animal  life  which  crowd  the  strata 
of  the  earth's  crust,  barely  glance  at  the 
heavenly  bodies,  and  theorize  only  on  the 
results  of  Plutonic  agencies,  or  aqueous 
and  atmospheric  degradations,  and  on  the 
destruction  of  antediluvian  races.  Science 
and  philosophy  must  awaken  to  still  more 
sublime  contemplations.  The  earth  is  only 
one  marvelloas  link  in  an  endless  chain 
of  cosmical  creations.  It  is  composed  of 
atoms,  each  one  of  which  is  bound  by 
mysterious  and  harmonious  relations  to 
all  the  rest  in  the  physical  universe.     The 


VIEWS    OF    THE    UNIVERSE.  169 

revolutions  of  the  earth  around  the  sun  not 
only  expose  its  surface  to  cheering  and  fer- 
tilizing beams  of  light,  but  its  universal 
mass  throbs  through  every  molecule,  as  it 
hastens  along  its  circuit  in  obedience  to  the 
grea^  celestial  laws.  It  is  moved  from 
centre  to  circumference  with  intense  ac- 
tivity. Quiet  and  gigantic  internal  changes 
beget  quiet  and  gigantic  external  results. 
Slow  igneous  ulcerations  of  the  inner  sur- 
face of  the  crust  at  last  induce  sudden 
subterranean  convulsions,  or  volcanic  inun- 
dations. Universal  or  local  revolutions  of 
surface  ensue.  As  continents  rise  and 
oceans  retire,  isothermal  variations  as  gra- 
dually succeed  each  other;  and,  in  corre- 
sponding succession,  various  organic  crea- 
tions spring  up,  or  pass  away,  both  on  the 
earth  and  in  the  sea,  according  to  laws 
regulating  their  physical  inception  and  de- 
velopment, ordained  by  the  Almighty. 
Thus  is   evanescent,   ever-changing   life 


170  COSMOGRAPHY : 

upon  the  earth  connected  with  the  cease- 
less rolling  of  the  spheres.  While  the 
varying  seasons,  and  day  and  night,  are 
necessary  for  the  resuscitation  of  natural 
forces,  and  the  differing  wants  of  organic 
being,  the  revolutions  of  the  earth's  sur- 
face are  necessary  for  unfolding  the  endless 
resources  of  the  Creator's  plan,  and  to 
prepare  it  for  the  abode  of  the  crowning 
work  of  his  will.  Epochs,  whose  duration 
exceeds  all  human  calculation,  have  suc- 
ceeded each  other  in  unknown  numbers, 
with  all  their  multifarious  forms  of  ex- 
istence rising  progressively  in  the  scale  of 
development  with  the  lapse  of  time.  Stra- 
ta on  strata  of  organic  remains  have  thus 
been  heaped  together  in  the  sea  and  upon 
the  land;  and,  were  the  deposits  of  each 
geological  age  piled  one  upon  the  other, 
they  would  rise  many  miles  in  height. 
Had  complete  repose  brooded  for  ever  over 
the  globe,  granites,  slates,  marbles, coal-beds, 


VIEWS    OF    THE    UNIVERSE.  171 

and  metalliferous  mines  would  all  lie  deep 
in  the  bowels  of  the  earth,  or  beneath  the 
ocean,  and  beyond  the  reach  of  man.  But 
the  ever-changing  year,  which  brings  seed- 
time and  harvest,  and  summer  and  winter, 
for  the  growth  and  sustenance  of  swarming 
myriads  of  organized  forms,  brings  at  the 
same  time  changes  in  the  physical  consti- 
tution of  the  planets,  slow  and  impercep- 
tible, or  active  and  determinate,  which 
exhibit  with  overwhelming  eloquence  the 
beneficence  and  universal  providence  of  the 
Creator.  How  necessary  all  these  changes 
for  the  highest  physical  happiness  and  the 
intellectual  and  moral  perfection  of  man ! 
Had  our  race  been  created  first  instead  of 
last,  the  bare  granitic  surface  of  the  globe 
would  have  been  an  inhospitable  abode 
indeed ;  or,  midway  in  the  course  of  ages, 
we  should  have  inhabited  a  surface  filled 
with  a  rank  and  noisome  vegetation,  ex- 
haling only  pestilence,  and    unfit    for  the 


172  COSMOGRAPHY : 

fulfilment  of  the  sublime  plan  of  our  crea- 
tion ;  if  still  later,  our  companions  would 
have  been  hideous  and  terrible  monsters, 
whose  existence  would  seem  fabulous,  did 
not  their  remains  demonstrate  to  us  their 
magnitude  and  rapacity.  But  the  lot  of 
man  was  designed  for  the  highly  elaborated 
surface  of  the  earth,  where  the  companions 
of  his  creation  could  administer  to  his 
wants,  and  aid  his  occupations  ;  and  where 
all  the  abounding  wealth  of  metals  and 
of  decomposed  animal  and  vegetable  re- 
mains has  been  overturned  and  exposed  by 
physical  changes,  to  invite  and  reward  his 
mechanical  and  agricultural  toil. 

Thus  all  created  things  seem  linked  to- 
gether. We  can  trace  the  special  creations 
of  God  i'rom  step  to  step  on  this  globe,  all 
the  way  from  man  back  to  the  first  plants 
and  animals  which  he  made  in  the  primor- 
dial seas.  Special  and  definite  interposi- 
tions  of  divine   thought  and  energy   are 


VIEWS    OF    THE    UNIVERSE.  173 

manifest  from  age  to  age  in  organic  crea- 
tions, and  they  are  all  linked  to  the  suc- 
"cessive  revolutions  of  the  surface  of  the 
earth.  Through  countless  ages  we  can 
trace  these  changes,  and  these  exhibitions 
of  Infinite  Wisdom,  till  we  arrive  back,  and 
stand  upon  the  bare  crystalline  surface  of 
the  uninhabitable  globe.  The  contempla- 
tion of  these  changes  and  these  creations 
almost  brings  us  face  to  face  with  the  great 
Jehovah.  How  wonderful  and  manifold 
his  works  I  How  marvellous  the  faculties 
of  thought  which  translate  us  towards  In- 
finity !  But  the  cause  of  these  remarkable 
changes  in  the  planet,  to  which  vegetable 
and  a,nimal  life  are  subordinate,  lie  without 
and  beyond  it.  The  influence  which  steals 
through  its  constituent  molecules  is  more 
subtile  and  potent  than  the  light  and  heat 
of  the  solar  rays  which  warm  and  fertilize 
its  surface.  In  these  solar  powers  dwell 
the   levers  of  the  Almighty,  by   which  he 


174  COSMOGRAPHY. 

has  raised  from  the  bosom  of  the  deep  the 
lofty  mountain  and  sloping  vale,  and  pre- 
pared them   for   the    abode   of  successive ' 
races  of  plants  and  animals. 

Thus,  by  the  exertion  of  the  intellectual 
and  meditative  faculties  with  which  man 
is  endowed,  he  can  ascend  step  by  step 
through  the  infinite  series  of  created  things  ; 
behold  his  own  existence  linked  throusfh 
the  atoms  of  the  earth  to  the  heart  of  the 
sun,  —  and  that  depending  for  its  energies 
and  stability  upon  the  stellar  multitudes  of 
the  milky  way ;  and  the  whole  universe 
chained  together  in  one  vast  empire,  em- 
bracing alike  molecule  and  globe,  sun  and 
systems  of  suns,  stretching  beyond  the 
reach  of  mortal  sight,  and  all  bound  with 
enduring  power  to  the  omnipotent  arm  of 
their  Creator. 

THE      END. 


EKR  ATUM. 

For  "Persia,"  p.  143,  line  18,  read  "Peru." 


'^-\y- 


} 


L  006  129  876  6 


|i|iir" 

'^^      000  183  705 


